HL 


H    I 


Ml  library 

iraltna  &tatr 
allpgp 


as  presented  by 

ITECTURE 
7610 

2 

Arch. lib 


1IA7610 
E62 


Arch  lib 

PER. 


77950 


i 


ONE  HUNDRED 
COUNTRY  HOUSES 


ONE  HUNDRED 
COUNTRY    HOUSES 

fIDofcern  Hmcrican  jByampIes 


BY 


AYMAR   EMBURY   II 


V*i, 


^  I 


-  S°y!At<MUt"«£ 


PUBLISHED    BY   THE    CENTURY   CO. 
NEW  YORK M  CM  IX 


Copyright,  1909,  by 
The  Century  Co. 

Published  September,  I()Og 


THE  DE  VINNE   PRESS 


TO  MY  KINDEST  CRITIC  AND  FELLOW-WORKMAN, 

ALFRED    BUSSELLE 


77 


CONTENTS 

Introduction:    The  New  American  Architecture      .  3 

1    New  England  Colonial          16 

11    Southern  Coloniai 37 

in    Classic  Revivai 56 

iv    Dutch  Colonial 74 

v    Spanish  or  Mission 93 

vi    American  Farm-house 107 

vii    Elizabethan 123 

viii    Modern  English 149 

ix    Italian 174 

x   Art  Nouveau 194 

xi    Japanesque 215 

xii    The  House  and  the  Garden 233 

xiii    The  Plan  of  the  House          247 


Digitized  by  the  Internet  Archive 

in  2009  with  funding  from 

NCSU  Libraries 


http://www.archive.org/details/onehundredcountrOOembu 


LIST   OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHAPTER  I.     NEW  ENGLAND   COLONIAL 

HOUSE  FOR  AUSTIN  W.   LORD,  WATER  WITCH,  N.  J 19 

Lord  &  Hewlett,  Architects. 

HOUSE  FOR  MR.  CHAUNCEY  OLCOTT,  SARATOGA  SPRINGS,  N.  Y.        ...      21 
Keen  &  Mead,  Architects. 

THE  PITMAN  RESIDENCE,  BROOKLINE,  MASS 23 

Kilham  &  Hopkins,  Architects. 

THE  BRIGGS  RESIDENCE,  BROOKLINE,  MASS 25 

Kilham  &  Hopkins,  Architects. 

HOUSE  FOR  WILLIAM  H.  GRAY,  DEDHAM,  MASS 27 

James  Purdon,  Architect. 

THE  CHENEY  RESIDENCE,  SOUTH  MANCHESTER,  MASS 29 

Charles  A    Piatt,  Architect. 

HOUSE  FOR  MR.  WITHERBEE  BLACK,  PELHAM  MANOR,  N.  Y 31 

O.  C.  Hering,  Architect. 

HOUSE  AT  NEEDHAM,  MASS 33 

James  Purdon,  Architect. 

THE  SWIFT  RESIDENCE,  LARCHMONT,  N.  Y. 35 

Ewing  &  Chappell,  Architects. 


CHAPTER  II.     SOUTHERN  COLONIAL 

"EASTOVER,"  WYOMING,  N.  J 39 

Joy  Wheeler  Dow,  Architect. 

THE  SAMUEL  ADAMS  HOUSE,  SEWICKLEY,  PA 41 

Alden  &  Harlow,  Architects. 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 

PAGE 

HOUSE  OF  DR.  A.  C.  CABOT,  CANTON,  MASS 43 

Charles  A.  Piatt,  Architect. 

HOUSE  OF  HOWARD  CLARK,  BRISTOL,  R.  1 45 

Charles  A.  Piatt,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OF  E.  R.  THOMAS,  SHEEPSHEAD  BAY,  N.  Y 47 

Lionel  Moses,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OF  ERNESTUS  GUL1CK,  GARDEN   CITY  ESTATES,  L.  I.         ...     49 
Kirby,  Petit  &  Green,  Architects. 

THE   FRANKENBERG  HOUSE,  GREENWICH,  CONN 51 

Hale  &  Rogers,  Architects. 

C.  L.  WISE  RESIDENCE,  EAST  ORANGE,  N.  J .53 

Percy  Griffin,  Architect. 

HOUSE  OF  PROFESSOR  L.  W.  REID,  HAVERFORD,  PA 55 

Bailev  &  Bassett,  Architects. 


CHAPTER  III.     CLASSIC  REVIVAL 

RESIDENCE  OF  DR.  MARSDEN,  CHESTNUT  HILL,  PA 59 

Charles  Barton  Keen,  Architect. 

THE  MATHERS  FARM-HOUSE,  GERMANTOWN,  PA 61 

Charles  Barton  Keen,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OF   MR.  JOHN   CHAPMAN,  TARRYTOWN,  N.  Y 63 

Charles  A.  Piatt,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  FOR  MRS.  PROBST,  ENGLEWOOD,  N.  J 65 

Davis,  McGrath  &  Shcpard,  Architects. 

M.  TAYLOR   PVNK  HOUSE,  PRINCETON,  N.  J 67 

Raleigh  C.  Gildersleeve,  Architect. 

THE  RAMSAY  HOUSE,  CLEVELAND,  0 69 

Elzner  &  Anderson,  Architects. 

RESIDENCE  OF  ALFRED  BUSSELLE,  CHAPPAQUA,  N.  Y 71 

Alfred  Bussellc,  Architect. 

MR.  WYATT'S  RESIDENCE,  BALTIMORE,  MD 73 

Wvatt  St  Nuking,  Architects. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

CHAPTER  IV.     DUTCH   COLONIAL 

A  REAL  ESTATE  OFFICE,  WOODMERE,  L.  I "75 

Charles  Barton  Keen,  Architect. 

HOUSE  FOR  MRS.  J.  E.  SPEER,  LOS  ANGELES,  CAL 77 

Myron  Hunt  &  Elmer  Grev,  Architects. 

THE  CRENSHAW  COTTAGE,  GERMANTOWN,  PA 79 

Wilson  Evre,  Architect. 

COTTAGE  OF  MR.  HENRY  S.  ORR,  GARDEN  CITY,  L.  1 81 

Aymar  Embury  II,  Architect. 

"APPLEDORE,"  BOUND  BROOK,  NEW  JERSEY 83 

Aymar  Embury  II,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OF  MRS.  ETHEL  R.  GRAEME,  ENGLEWOOD,  N.  J 85 

Aymar  Embury  II,  Architect. 

J.  C.  BULL  HOUSE,  TUCKAHOE,  N.  Y 87 

Aymar  Embury  II,  Architect. 

HOUSE  FOR  ST.  GEORGE  BARBER,  ENGLEWOOD,  N.  J 89 

Aymar  Emburv  II,  Architect. 

HOUSE  AT  COLONIA,  N.  J 91 

George  Nichols,  Architect. 


CHAPTER  V.     SPANISH   OR  MISSION 

MR.  H.  O.  HAVEMEYER'S  HOUSE,  BAYBERRY  POINT,  L.  1 95 

Grosvenor  Atterbury,  Architect. 

MR.  MACKENZIE'S  RESIDENCE,  OYSTER  BAY,  L.  1 97 

G.  C.  Mackenzie,  Architect. 

THE  REIDERMEISTER  HOUSE,  ENGLEWOOD,  N.  J.         .      • 99 

William  K.  Benedict,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OF  E.  S.  HALL,  WATER  WITCH,  N.  J 101 

Lvman  A.  Ford,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  AT  CEDARHURST,  L.  1 103 

Louis  Boynton,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  TAYLOR,  NORFOLK,  CONN 105 

Taylor  &  Levi,  Architects. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATION* 


CHAPTER  VI.     AMERICAN   FARM-HOUSE 


PAGE 


COTTAGE  FOR   MISS   MARIA  GREY,  FOX   POINT,  WIS 109 

M\ron  Hunt  &  Elmer  Grey,  Architects. 

MR.  JONES'  COTTAGE,  BRYN   MAWR   PARK,  N.  Y Ill 

Sullivan  W.   |ones,  Architect. 

BENDIN   RODE  COTTAGE,  HAVERFORD,  PENN 11.5 

Walter  Smedley,  Architect. 

THE   I.YGERT  HOUSE,  GERMANTOWN,  PENN US 

Cope  &  Stewardson,  Architects. 

F.  P.  LORD  HOUSE,  EDGEWORTH,  PENN 117 

Charles  Barton  Keen,  Architect. 

THE  UNDERWOOD   RESIDENCE,  FOX  POINT,  WIS 119 

Elmer  Grey,  Architect. 

THE  BATES  COTTAGE,  WYOMING,  N.  J 121 

|oy  Wheeler  Dow,  Architect. 

CHAPTER  VII.     ELIZABETHAN 

THE  FINK  RESIDENCE,  PRINCETON,  N.  J 127 

Cope  &  Stewardson,  Architects. 

RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  E.  P.  COE,  ENGLEWOOD,  N.  J 129 

Aymar  Embury  II,  Architect. 

F.  M.  NICHOLAS  HOUSE,  UNIONVILLE,  0 133 

Frank  B.  Mead,  Architect. 

BALDWIN  RESIDENCE,  DETROIT,  MICH 133 

Stratton  &  Baldwin,  Architects. 

GATE  LODGE  FOR  W.  K.  VANDERBILT,  JR.,  "DEEPDALE,"  L.  1 135 

John  Russell  Pope,  Architect. 

SCOTT  RESIDENCE,  PELHAM   MANOR,  N.  Y 137 

Louis  Metcalfe,  Architect. 

MR.  |ACKSON'S  RESIDENCE,  CAMBRIDGE,  MASS.       .     .     .    " 139 

Allen  W.  Jackson,  Architect. 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 


PAGE 


THE  FASSETT  RESIDENCE,  NORFOLK,  CONN 141 

Taylor  &  Levi,  Architects. 

COTTAGE  FOR  MRS.  BISLAND,  LAWRENCE  PARK,  N.  Y 143 

William  A.  Bates,  Architect. 

THE  RABBITT  HOUSE,  WYOMING,  N.  J 145 

Joy  Wheeler  Dow,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  AT  OYSTER  BAY,  L.  1 147 

Grosvenor  Atterbury,  Architect. 


CHAPTER  VIII.     MODERN  ENGLISH 

THE  HOWARD  RESIDENCE,  BROOKLINE,  MASS 151 

Charles  A.  Piatt,  Architect. 

THE  JACOBEAN  HOUSE,  BROOKLINE,  MASS 153 

William  Whitney  Lewis,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OF  MRS.  GARLAND,  HAMILTON,  MASS 155 

Winslow  &  Bigelow,  Architects. 

GATE  LODGE  OF  MR.  ERNEST  A.  HAMILL,  LAKE  FOREST,  ILL 157 

Spencer  &  Powers,  Architects. 

THE  BORIE  RESIDENCE,  JENKINTOWN,  PENN 159 

Wilson  Eyre,  Architect. 

THE  RICE  RESIDENCE,  IPSWICH,  MASS 161 

William  G.  Rantoul,  Architect. 

THE  C.  P.  FOX  HOUSE,  PENLLYN,  PENN 163 

Cope  &  Stewardson,  Architects. 

RESIDENCE  FOR  DR.  DAVID  MAGIE,  PRINCETON,  N.  J 165 

Cope  &  Stewardson,  Architects. 

RESIDENCE  OF  MAXWELL  WYETH,  ROSEMOUNT,  PENN 167 

Wilson  Eyre,  Architect. 

THE  P.  B.  WALKER  HOUSE,  GLENCOE,  ILL 169 

Spencer  &  Powers,  Architects. 

COTTAGE  FOR  MRS.  PRESBREY  BISLAND,  LAWRENCE  PARK,  N.  Y.         .     .      .171 
Wilder  &  White,  Architects. 

HOUSE  AT  CEDARHURST,  L.  1 1  73 

Louis  Boynton,  Architect. 

xiii 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHAPTER   IX.      ITALIAN 


l-ACK 


MR.  BIGELOW'S   RESIDENCE,  READVILLE,  MASS 175 

Winslow  &  Bigelow,  Architects. 

RESIDENCE  OF  SAMUEL  CABOT,  CANTON,  MASS 177 

Winslow  &  Bigelow,  Architects. 

THE  WILLIAMS   RESIDENCE,  NAHANT,  MASS 179 

Parker  &  Thomas,  Architects. 

RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  HERING,  PELHAM  MANOR,  N.  Y 181 

Oswald  C.  Hering,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OP  J.  O.  BLOSS,  HARRISON,  N.  Y 183 

Alfred  Busselle,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OP  A.  DURANT  SNEDEN,  AVON-BY-THE-SEA,  N.  J 185 

A.  Durant  Sneden,  Architect. 

"CASA  DEL  PONTE,"  ROWAYTON,  CONN 187 

Slee  &  Bryson,  Architects. 

THE  CARPENTER   HOUSE,  LAKE  GENEVA,  WIS 189 

Howard  Shaw,  Architect. 

THE  A.  C.  BARTLETT  HOUSE,  LAKE  GENEVA,  WIS 191 

Howard  Shaw,  Architect. 

THE  A.  C.  BARTLETT  HOUSE,  LAKE  GENEVA,  WIS 193 

Howard  Shaw,  Architect. 

CHAPTER  X.     ART  NOUVEAU 

"RAGDALE,"  LAKE   FOREST,  ILL 19S 

Howard  Shaw,  Architect. 

Till.   HEDGES   RESIDENCE,  BROOKLINE,  MASS 197 

f.   Lovell  Little,  Architect. 

THE  DUNNING  COTTAGE,  BRIARCUFF,  N.  Y 199 

\.   \  .in  Buren  McGonigle,  Architect. 

A  HOUSE  AT  GLEN   RIDGE,  N.  J 2o1 

A.  Van  Buren  McGonigle. 

xiv 


LIST  OF  ILLUSTRATIONS 

RESIDENCE  OF  CARLETON   MACY,  WOODMERE,  L.  1 203 

Albro  &  Lindeberg,  Architects. 

ENTRANCE  TO  THE  CLUB  HOUSE,  KENSINGTON,  ILL 205 

George  W.  Maher,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OF  FRANCIS  LACKNER,  KENILWORTH,  ILL 207 

George  W.  Maher,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  HARRY  RUBENS,  GLENCOE,  ILL 209 

George  W,  Maher,  Architect. 

HOUSE  OF  A.  B.  EASTWOOD,  ROCHESTER,  N.  Y 211 

Claude  Bragdon,  Architect. 

RESIDENCE  OF  RUDOLPH  TIETIG,  CINCINNATI,  0 213 

Tietig  &  Lee,  Architects. 


CHAPTER  XI.     JAPANESQUE 

TICHENOR  HOUSE,  LONG  BEACH,  CAL 217 

Greene  &  Greene,  Architects. 

RESIDENCE  IN   PASADENA,  CAL 219 

Greene  &  Greene,  Architects. 

TEA  HOUSE  AND  POOL,  LONG  BEACH,  CAL 221 

Greene  &  Greene,  Architects. 

RESIDENCE  OF  DR.  GUY  COCHRAN,  PASADENA,  CAL 223 

Mvron  Hunt  &  Elmer  Grev,  Architects. 

RESIDENCE  OF  DR.  GUY  COCHRAN,  PASADENA,  CAL 225 

Mvron  Hunt  &  Elmer  Grey,  Architects. 

THE  FARRINGTON  STUDIO,  BERKELEY,  CAL 227 

Bernard  Mavbeck,  Architect. 

A  CAMP  ON  LAKE  VVILBERT,  ADIRONDACK  MOUNTAINS 229 

Davis  &  McGrath,  Architects. 

A  COTTAGE  FOR  MR.  DELAFIELD,  TUXEDO   PARK,  N.  Y 231 

Donn  Barber,  Architect. 


LIST  OF   ILLUSTRATIONS 


CHAPTER   XII.     THE  HOUSE  AND  THE  GARDEN 


IAC.K 


(,  \RDEN   OF  MR.  JAMES  HAMILTON,  DETROIT,  MICH 235 

Stratton  &  Baldwin,   Architects. 
(,  \RDEN  OF  DR.  GUY   COCHRAN,  PASADENA,  CAL 237 

Myron  Hunt  &  Elmer  Grey,  Architects. 

CASA   DEL  PONTE,  ROWAYTON,  CONN 239 

Slee  &  Bryson,  Architects. 
THE  A.  C.  BARTLETT  STUDIO  AND   GARDEN,  LAKE  GENEVA,  WIS.      .      .      .241 

Howard  Shaw,   Architect. 

THE  GARDF:N  OF  WELD,  BROOKLINE,  MASS 243 

Charles  A.  Piatt,  Architect. 

THE  CASINO  AT  FAULKNER  FARM,  BROOKLINE,  MASS 245 

Charles  A.  Piatt,  Architect. 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 


INTRODUCTION 

THE   NEW  AMERICAN   ARCHITECTURE 

TT 7HEN  the  medieval  architect  Vilard  d'Honnicort  was 
commissioned  to  build  the  church  at  St.  Stephen  at 
Prague,  he  spent  two  years  traveling  around  Europe  study- 
ing and  sketching  other  churches.  His  sketch-books,  which 
have  been  preserved,  are  full  of  notes  like  this:  "Here's  a 
good  tower;  it  it  were  changed  thus:  I  could  use  it  for 
my  church." 

After  this  manner  all  architectural  design  has  been  done: 
by  the  study  of  old  work,  varying  the  design  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  individual  case;  and  each  style  of 
architecture  has  been  logically  evolved  from  the  study  and 
revision  ot  the  work  immediately  preceding  it.  Thus 
Roman  architecture  was  derived  from  Greek,  Romanesque 
from  Roman,  and  Gothic  from  Romanesque.  During  the 
fourteenth  century  this  chain  was  interrupted;  somebody 
dug  up  the  Forum  and  all  the  near-by  architects  at  once 

3 


D.   H.   HILL  LIBRARY 
North 


ONK  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
were  fascinated  bv  the  Roman  work  and  started  to  copy 
it.  Their  knowledge  of  it  was  imperfect,  but  thev  were 
verv  good  architects  and  so  created,  almost  by  accident,  the 
free  and  charming,  but  bv  no  means  classic,  architecture 
which  we  know  as  Renaissance.  This  spread  and  developed 
verv  slowlv.  Means  of  communication  were  poor  and  the 
men  of  the  countries  outside  Italy,  trained,  as  Italians  never 
were,  in  Gothic  architecture,  were  loath  to  give  it  up.  In  time, 
however,  the  earlier  process  of  development  and  elimination 
was  repeated,  with  the  difference  that  now  the  development 
was  both  aided  and  cramped  by  the  increasing  knowledge 
and  strength  of  the  classic  tradition.  Thus  the  splendid 
architecture  of  the  Classic  Revival  was  formed,  gaining  in 
dignity  what  it  lost  in  freedom. 

It  was  toward  the  end  of  this  period  that  in  America 
our  ancestors  became  rich  enough  and  had  time  enough  to 
think  about  things  artistic;  and  after  the  Revolution  the 
eves  of  the  world  were  turned  to  this  country  with  the 
expectation  that  here,  in  a  land  unfettered  bv  tradition  and 
unhampered  by  the  monument's  of  a  dead  past,  would  be 
developed  an  architecture  original  and  beautiful.  From 
that   time   to   this,  both    here   and  abroad,  art  writers  have 

+ 


THE    NEW   AMERICAN   ARCHITECTURE 
given  voice  to  this  feeling,  and  just  as  often  they  have  ex- 
pressed their  mournful  regret  that  we  have  so  completely 
failed. 

Neither  the  expectation  nor  the  regret  was  justified.  It 
would  indeed  have  been  a  fine  thing  had  we  made  an  art 
lovely  and  without  precedent;  but  when  the  critics  decrv 
our  originality  compared  to  that  of  Gothic  and  Greek 
builders,  they  forget  that  the  buildings  thev  have  in  mind 
were  not  spontaneous  but  the  culmination  of  centuries  of 
study,  experiment,  and  earnest  effort.  Had  we  been  the 
aboriginal  Americans,  without  knowledge  of  the  great  past 
and  of  different  blood  from  its  makers,  we  would  have 
developed,  as  the  Indians  did,  an  architecture  novel  and 
without  reminiscence  of  European  work.  But  we  were 
transplanted  Europeans  of  the  blood  of  the  old  builders, 
with  memory  of  their  work,  all  the  more  compelling  be- 
cause of  the  lack  of  dailv  familiarity  therewith. 

Nor  can  it  be  said  that  we  entirelv  failed  to  create  a  new 
style.  Hardlv  had  we  become  a  nation  before,  working 
with  the  old  designs  of  the  Renaissance  in  new  materials 
and  with  little  accurate  information  to  guide  them,  our 
architects  evolved  the  Colonial  style;  a  result  almost  as  ac- 

5 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

cidental  as  the  Italian  Renaissance  and  as  truly  an  inde- 
pendent style  as  that.  And  some  of  the  monuments  that 
period  has  left  us,  notably  the  New  York  City  Hall  and 
Independence  Hall  in  Philadelphia,  stand  quite  on  a  level 
with  any  of  the  work  of  the  Italian  builders. 

The  American  architects  were  still  working  in  this  Co- 
lonial development  of  the  old  Roman  school  when,  about 
the  year  1789,  Stewart  and  Revett,  two  English  travelers, 
published  their  monumental  work  on  the  Antiquities  of 
Athens,  which  changed  the  current  of  work  the  world  over, 
from   Roman  channels  to  their  prototype  in  Greece. 

This  movement  influenced  American  architecture  very 
strongly  and  we  find  Fenimore  Cooper  complaining  that 
we  were  filling  the  land  with  "Greek  temples"  utterly  un- 
suitcd  to  the  environment.  Some  truth  there  was  in  this, 
as  there  has  been  in  all  the  criticisms  of  that  character. 
Yet  Cooper  tailed  to  realize  that  in  certain  of  the  work 
done  at  that  time,  notably  the  noble  University  of  Virginia, 
was  shown  a  creative  power  as  real  as  that  of  the  Parthenon, 
and  that  the  old  Greek  motif,  modified  and  adjusted  to 
needs  of  that  day,  was  as  vital  an  architecture  as  that  of  the 
Greeks  themselves. 

6 


THE  NEW  AMERICAN  ARCHITECTURE 
The  Greek  forms  were,  however,  tew  in  number  and  the 
architects  and  their  clients,  the  public,  soon  tired  of  them. 
From  that  time  on  to  within  a  few  years,  American  work 
has  almost  justified  those  critics  who  accuse  it  of  being  a 
slavish  copy  of  the  foreign.  With  the  exception  of  the  bril- 
liant adaptation  of  French  Romanesque  used  bv  the  late 
H.  H.  Richardson,  there  was  practicallv  no  good  work  done 
which  was  not  a  close  copy  of  an  old  original.  But  how 
beautiful  some  of  it  was!  Upjohn  in  his  Gothic  work, 
and  McKim,  Meade  &  White  in  the  Madison  Square  Gar- 
den and  in  the  Boston  Public  Librarv,  and  R.  M.  Hunt  in 
his  copies  of  the  French  Renaissance,  fairly  outdid  their 
originals. 

Now,  at  last  we  have  developed  rationallv  and  naturally 
an  architectural  style  which  may  be  fairly  called  our  own. 
Until  within  a  tew  vears  American  architects  had  practically 
no  training,  tew  and  poor  books,  and  no  monuments  of 
foreign  work  to  copv.  As  with  "dancing  dogs  and  preach- 
ing women"  the  wonder  was,  not  that  they  did  it  badlv,  but 
that  they  did  it  at  all.  To-day  the  training  is  of  the  best, 
both  in  the  schools  and  in  the  offices;  there  is  a  flood  of 
architectural  books  of  unquestioned  merit,  and  with  all  the 

7 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
instruments  tor  good  work  ready  to  our  hands,  we  have 
at  length  learned  to  use  them,  realizing  that  the  truest 
architecture  is  that  which  neither  rejects  the  good  which 
has  been  done,  nor  tries  to  imitate  it  exactly.  All  this 
knowledge  and  training  might  not  have  resulted  in  any- 
thing further  than  more  and  better  copies,  had  it  not  been 
for  that  restless  search  tor  something  new,  modern,  and  ex- 
pressive of  present-day  condition  which  we  know  as  Art 
Nouveau.  This  resulted  in  France,  Austria,  Italy,  and 
Germany  in  a  type  ot  design  rilled  with  beautiful,  vet  often 
meaningless,  lines;  and  in  England  and  the  United  States, 
coming  at  a  critical  period,  it  vitalized  archaeology  into 
architecture.  The  use  ot  the  old  work,  changed  and  mod- 
ified with  the  greatest  possible  freedom,  is  the  key-note  ot 
modern  architecture,  and  we  find  those  inveterate  archaeol- 
ogists, Me  Kim,  Meade  &  White,  doing  work  as  brilliantly 
original  as  the  Gorham  Building  and  the  Colony  Club,  in 
which  the  old  motives  are  so  freely  and  skilfully  treated 
that  the  result  is  truly  a  new  style. 

While  in   all   classes  ot  buildings  this   modern  sentiment 
is  apparent,  it   has  advanced  furthest  in  the  country  dwcl- 

8 


THE  NEW  AMERICAN  ARCHITECTURE 
ling-house;  and  the  reasons  tor  this  are  evident.  The  great 
number  recently  built  gives  almost  unlimited  opportunity 
for  change  and  experiment,  and  it  is  the  type  ot  buildings 
least  trammeled  by  the  requirements  ot  the  owner  and  the 
feeling  that  the  building  should  conform  to  some  extent 
with  others  of  its  class.  The  results  even  ot  these  few 
years  ot  work  have  been  amazing  to  the  observer,  and  the 
illustrations  here  reproduced  fairly  represent  this  new 
work. 

Thev  are  very  different  and  vet  in  a  subtle  way  very 
much  alike.  It  is  plain  that  their  authors  have  started  from 
different  prototypes;  yet  working  with  a  common  aim  they 
have  achieved  a  result  which  is  beyond  mere  copying,  and 
instinct  with  lite. 

Architects  are  employing  a  number  ot  different  historical 
styles  modified  and  modernized  to  suit  the  conditions  and 
needs  ot  to-day.  Exact  reproduction  ot  old  work  is  apt  to 
be  dry  and  tiresome;  but  there  is  nothing  new  under  the 
sun — in  architecture  at  least — and  so  even  the  most  modern 
work  has  its  prototype,  sometimes  so  tar  separated  from  it 
that    the    connection    is    barely    perceptible.      Accordingly 

9 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

those  styles  most  usual  in  home-building  will  be  dealt  with 
later  under  the  following  headings: 

i  New  England  Colonial 

2  Southern  Colonial 

3  Classic  Revival 
4.  Dutch  Colonial 

^  Spanish  or  Mission 

6  American  Farm-house 

7  Elizabethan 

8  Modern  English 

9  Italian 

10      Art  Nouveau 
1  1       Japanesque 

This  classification  will  be  necessarily  a  very  loose  one; 
probablv  almost  every  modern  home  owes  something  to  two 
or  more  of  these  styles,  vet  the  root  idea  or  motif  will  be 
found  mainly  owing  to  one  of  them,  and  the  points  of  like- 
ness to,  and  divergence  from,  the  older  work  will  he  shown. 

This  list  divides  itself  naturally  into  two  classes:  one 
more  easily  treated  in  a  formal  manner,  and  the  other 
suited   to  a  less  formal  treatment.      As  a  general,  hut  not  a 

1  o 


THE    NEW   AMERICAN   ARCHITECTURE 

hard-and-fast  rule,  the  formal  work  is  a  far-away  descendant 
of  the  old  classic  period,  while  the  informal  is  not.  Under 
the  first  class  would  come  the  divisions  of  "Colonial," 
"Classic  Revival,"  "Spanish"  and  "Italian,"  and  under  the 
second  fall  the  remaining  stvles. 

A  lot  nearlv  level  lends  itself  readily  to  almost  any  style 
of  house,  but  a  sloping  lot  requires  a  house  treated  in  an 
informal  way.  Harmony  of  house  and  grounds  is  most 
important,  and  a  house  should  grow  naturallv  from  the 
ground,  not  to  be  set  upon  it  as  if  it  had  been  dropped 
there  haphazard. 

The  architecture  of  the. first  settlers  in  any  part  of  the 
country  is  apt  to  be  that  most  suitable  to  it,  and  unless 
some  strong  personal  preference  for  another  style  prevents, 
is  probably  the  most  satisfactory  to  emplov.  This  is  true 
from  a  practical  as  well  as  from  a  sentimental  standpoint: 
our  ancestors  both  here  and  in  Europe  did  not  think  as 
much  of  looks  as  thev  did  of  comfort;  and  the  rlat  pitched 
roofs  of  the  Southern  Colonial  and  Mission  styles  would 
never  have  been  employed  by  the  New  England  or  Middle 
States  farmers,  who  had  to  make  the  snow  slide  off  if  they 
did    not  want    their    bedrooms    full    of   water.       Yet  while 

i  i 


ONE  HIXDRKD  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
appearance  was  secondary,  several  factors  made  toward 
suitability  to  location.  'The  difficulties  of  transportation 
compelled  our  ancestors  to  use  the  materials  around  them, 
in  country  work  at  least,  and  there  is  something  in  the  use 
of  native  material  which  makes  tor  fitness.  Whether  this 
is  purely  sentimental  or  whether  the  colors  and  kinds  of 
the  materials  used  are  really  harmonious  with  the  woods 
and  ground  from  which  they  are  taken,  is  hard  to  say.  Such 
nevertheless  is  the  tact.  The  simplicity  of  most  old  work 
is  another  element  in  its  beauty;  the  structure  ot  the  build- 
ings was  always  apparent  in  the  exterior,  and  the  suggestions 
of  the  bones  of  a  house  under  its  skin  is  as  a  rule  a  good 
feature;  certainly  it  is  one  preached  unceasingly  by  all 
modern  Art  writers  from  Ruskin  down.  The  tact  that 
cheap  decorative  motives  tor  the  exterior  ot  the  house  did 
not  exist,  compelled  the  old  designers,  call  them  carpenters 
or  architects  as  you  will,  tor  they  were  both,  to  study  with 
great  care  the  masses  ot  their  work.  It  is  in.  the  main  upon 
the  mass  —  or  general  proportion  —  ot  a  building  that  its 
beauty  depends,  tor  all  detail  is  lost  at  the  distance  ot  a 
hundred  feet  and  only  the  outlines  and  the  large  shadows 
remain. 

I  2 


THE  NEW  AMERICAN  ARCHITECTURE 
The  desire  of  every  one  is  naturally  enough  for  individu- 
ality; and  a  house  should  express  the  character  of  its 
occupant.  Individuality,  however,  is  not  contrast;  and  the 
crv  of  so  manv  prospective  home-builders  for  "something 
different"  can  be  met  just  as  well  in  harmony  with  the  ad- 
joining houses  as  out  of  harmony.  There  are  an  indefinite 
number  of  designs  possible  in  any  style;  each  of  its  own 
individual  character,  heavy  or  light,  high  or  broad,  accord- 
ing to  the  desired  expression  of  the  style.  Take  for  example 
the  Lord  house  designed  by  Mr.  Keen  in  the  farm-house 
section,  and  the  house  for  Dr.  Cabot  in  the  second  chapter, 
designed  bv  Mr.  Piatt;  the  one  low  and  broad  with  heavy 
columns  and  much  roof;  comfort  and  strength  in  every  line. 
The  other  slim,  square,  and  simple,  refined  in  detail  and 
good  in  proportion.  Both  have  character,  as  distinct  as 
that  of  any  two  friends;  yet  they  look  like  friends;  born 
and  bred  under  the  same  sky;  going  each  his  own  way 
with  community  of  interest  to  tie  together  their  different 
lives. 

It  is  the  likeness  of  these  different  styles  of  work  that  it 
is  thought  here  especially  desirable  to  emphasize,  and  while, 
as  has  been    stated    above,  the    houses  shown  later  will    be 


ONE   HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

loosely  grouped  under  their  parent  styles,  they  really  com- 
pose a  single  and  modern  type  of  architecture. 

The  characteristics  of  this  style  are  honest  expression  of 
the  plan  and  structure  in  the  exterior;  and  great  freedom 
and  care  in  the  use  of  materials;  with  an  effort  constantly 
to  expose  rather  than  to  conceal  their  nature.  We  no 
longer  turn  and  mold  wood  to  appear  like  stone;  nor  do 
we  make  the  mechanical  perfections  of  pressed  brickwork 
our  aim,  but  rather  try  to  get  a  texture  to  our  flat  surfaces 
by  the  use  of  rough  brick  with  deep-set  joints  and  wide 
rough  shingles.  The  knowledge  that  age  improves  archi- 
tecture as  well  as  wine,  is  not  new,  but  the  realization  that 
the  improvement  is  due  to  the  texture  of  the  surfaces  and 
the  softening  of  the  rigid  lines  is  recent  and  has  not  yet  by 
any  means  become  general. 

The  greatly  increasing  use  of  lattice-work,  both  as  a 
purely  decorative  feature,  and  as  a  trellis  for  vines,  is  another 
characteristic  of  the  modern  work,  and  is  apparent  in  a 
great  many  examples  here  shown.  The  contrast  between 
delicate  shadows  cast  by  the  lattice-work  and  the  heavy 
shadows  of  the  cornices  and  projecting  portions  of  the  house 
makes  it  a  particularly  effective  decoration,  while  forming, 

14 


THE    NEW   AMERICAN   ARCHITECTURE 
by  the  growth  ot  vines  upon  it,  an  invaluable  link  between 
the  structure  and  grounds,  conveying  a  sense  ot   htness  of 
the  house  to  the  site. 

The  order  given  above,  in  which  the  different  styles  are 
to  be  treated,  is  not  based  upon  any  logical  sequence,  nor 
is  it  possible  so  to  do;  but  in  a  general  way  each  style  forms 
a  link  between  those  adjoining. 


*5 


CHAPTLR I 


NEW   ENGLAND   COLONIAL 


OF  the  various  styles  from  which  the  houses  of  to-day 
are  descended,  probably  the  one  most  commonly  used 
is  the  one  treated  in  this  chapter. 

The  title  "Colonial"  is  in  a  sense  a  misnomer,  tor  the 
title  is  generally  understood  to  include  all  the  work  done 
in  this  country  prior  to  i  840,  and  up  to  this  time  there 
were  a  number  of  styles  as  distinct  from  each  other  as 
Gothic  and  Romanesque.  These  styles  were  divided  both 
geographically  and  chronologically.  In  the  different  divi- 
sions of  what  now  constitute  the  United  States  the  work 
displayed  nearly  as  great  a  variety  of  treatment  as  it  did  in 
the  separate  countries  of  Europe,  the  New  England  States 
employing  an  architecture  very  severe,  simple,  and  quiet. 
The  detail  was  almost  invariably  light  and  hat!  considerable 
refinement.  The  masses  of  the  houses  were  square,  and 
often   without    any  projecting  wings  of    any  sort.       Around 

16 


NEW  ENGLAND  COLONIAL 
New  York  the  Dutch  farm-house  style  of  architecture  was 
prevalent  before  the  Revolution.  In  the  neighborhood  ot 
Philadelphia  was  a  different  type  resembling  more  closely 
the  work  of  the  same  period  in  Maryland  and  Virginia  than 
the  more  northern  work. 

The  houses  of  which  we  are  now  speaking  are  those 
which  in  general  are  derived  from  New  England  motives, 
but  almost  every  one  of  them  contains  such  an  admixture 
of  elements  foreign  to  the  early  New  England  style  that 
their  inclusion  under  the  term  "  New  England  Colonial" 
is  open  to  question,  and  only  by  a  careful  analysis  of  them 
is  it  possible  to  trace  their  origin  more  to  New  England 
than  to  other  sources,  Colonial  or  foreign. 

In  most  of  them  there  are  very  strong  Italian  influences 
to  be  seen,  especially  in  the  detail  of  the  cornices  and  in 
the  treatment  of  the  porches.  Generally  speaking,  the  great 
point  of  separation  between  the  modern  work  along  Colo- 
nial lines  and  the  older  work  is  the  constant  use  of  details, 
foreign  to  the  style,  applied  to  a  house  in  mass  quite  simi- 
lar to  the  old  work.  Of  course  this  use  of  extraneous 
elements  must  be  very  carefully  done  to  be  successful. 
When,  however,  thev  are  incorporated  into  the  design  from 

x7 


ONE   HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 
its  very  inception,  and   arc   not   simply  introduced  because 
of  a  desire   for  something   novel,  they  result   in   a  crispness 
and  charm  of  detail  that  can  hardly  be  surpassed. 

The  Lord  house  (the  first  illustration)  is  of  all  those 
shown  probably  the  purest  in  style,  and  yet  there  are  many 
points  of  divergence  from  the  tvpe.  The  width  of  the 
shingle  courses  and  their  rough  texture  remind  us  very 
strongly  of  the  old-time  country  house.  Yet  the  doubling 
of  the  shingle  courses  is  a  very  modern  note.  The  house 
is  picturesque  in  composition,  and  while  unsymmetrical, 
shows  a  balance  of  design  that  is  both  clever  and  charm- 
ing. The  doorway  and  entrance  porch  are  not  upon  the 
axis  of  the  building,  while  the  two  big  chimneys  are  at 
equal  distance  from  the  ends  of  the  ridge.  The  little 
pantry  extension  to  the  right  brings  the  doorway  back  to 
what  may  be  called  for  lack  of  a  better  term,  the  center 
of  composition.  The  string-course  above  the  heads  of  the 
second-story  windows  is  a  recollection  of  the  New  England 
village  type  of  house  so  familiar  to  all  visitors  to  Deerherd 
and  Farmington.  An  especially  interesting  feature  of  the 
house  is  the  treatment  of  the  cornice;  this,  richly  treated 
and  of  wide  projection  in   the  front  and   rear,  is  flat  along 

18 


//^•^ 


HOUSE  FOR  AUSTIN  W.  L( 

WATER  WITCH,  ] 

LORD  &  HEWLETT,  ARCHITE 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

the  gable-ends;  and  the  cornice  up  the  rake  of  the  gables 
is  lighter  than  the  main  cornice.  The  old  houses  were 
arranged  in  this  way,  but  the  treatment  here  is  infinitely 
more  skilfully  handled  than  in  any  of  the  old  work,  and 
the  feeling  that  the  cornice  does  not  lit  neatly  around  the 
corners,  which  is  often  observable  in  the  old  work,  is  here 
entirely  absent. 

The  Olcott  house  is  very  similar  in  character  to  the  one 
just  described,  and  it  is  perhaps  the  most  famous  small 
house  in  America.  Exceedingly  simple  in  mass  and  in 
detail,  the  proportions  are  so  admirable  and  the  relation 
of  the  window  openings  to  wall  surface  so  perfect  that  the 
house  compels  attention,  without  having  any  exaggerated 
or  novel  features.  The  house  is  simply  composed  of  the 
old  motives  a  little  more  freely  used  than  by  their  orig- 
inators. The  arbors  at  each  end  are  nothing  more  or  less 
than  the  old  grape-arbors,  but  so  placed  as  to  form  a  single 
composition  with  the  house,  and  to  assist  in  forming  a  con- 
nection between  the  house  and  the  surroundings.  Th 
trellis  across  the  front  is  a  feature  which,  while  not  com- 
mon to  New  England,  is  often  used  in  the  neighborhood 
of    Philadelphia.      The     cornice,    indeed,    is     considerably 

20 


e 


HOUSE  FOR  MR.  CHAUNCEY  OLCOTT 

SARATOGA  SPRINGS,  N.  Y. 

KEEN  &  MEAD,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

heavier  than  most  Colonial  architects  would  have  dared 
to  employ,  and  the  feeling  of  unity  which  it  gives  to  the 
house  is  its  ample  justification,  and  the  placing  of  the 
leaders  at  each  end  also  helps  in  binding  the  house  to- 
gether. The  treatment  of  the  front  porch  with  the  flower- 
boxes  and  beam-ends  is  one  of  which  the  old  builders 
would  hardly  have  thought,  and  it  seems  very  charming. 
Perhaps  the  house  owes  almost  as  much  of  its  charm  to 
the  beautv  of  its  setting  as  to  any  other  one  feature  of  the 
design,  and  while  the  trees  were  certainly  not  included  in 
the  architect's  drawings,  he  unquestionably  had  their  effect 
in  mind  and  placed  his  house  in  such  a  position  as  to  best 
bring  them  into  the  grouping.  While  it  is  not  always 
possible  to  obtain  a  setting  like  this,  it  very  often  happens 
that  an  equally  good  setting  is  spoiled  by  unskilful  placing 
of  the  house  upon  the  lot,  and  trees  like  these  are  sacri- 
ficed to  reasons  of  much  slighter  importance. 

The  Pitman  and  Briggs  residences  at  Brookline,  Massachu- 
setts, resemble  very  closely  the  larger  and  handsomer  village 
residences  around  Boston,  such  residences  as  used  to  be  spoken 
of  as  mansions.  It  may  be  that  the  well-known  Longfellow 
house  was  the  suggestion    for  the  Pitman    house,  and  if   so 

22 


b—  sbbhi  mtaa  II 


- 


THE  PITMAN  RESIDENCE 

BROOKLINE,  MASS. 

KILHAM  &  HOPKINS,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

it  was  used  in  the  proper  way,  not  as  a  basis  tor  a  copy  but 
rather  as  an  inspiration  to  a  different  and  better  treatment. 
These  houses  are  alike  in  the  symmetry  and  simplicity  of 
their  design,  the  grouping  ot  five  elements,  two  windows 
on  each  side  of  the  door,  in  the  front  ot  each  being  a  favorite 
one  with  the  old  Colonial  builders.  Especially  interesting 
is  the  front  doorway  of  the  Pitman  house  with  the  charm- 
ing little  trellis  on  either  side  ot  the  Palladian  motive;  had 
the  building  been  an  old  one  it  would  have  become  a  shrine 
for  lovers  of  the  Colonial.  Even  the  fence  with  the  inter- 
esting posts  and  the  little  arched  entrance-gate  recalls  very 
strongly  the  old  work,  yet  the  treatment  of  the  porches  is 
new,  and  though  new,  perfectly  in  harmony. 

The  Briggs  house  shows  in  the  entrance  doorway  and 
the  piazza  the  influence  ot  the  Italian  work,  the  doorway 
being  characteristically  Italian  and  well  adapted  to  the  po- 
sition in  which  it  is  used,  although  the  columns  seem  a 
trifle  small  and  out  of  scale  with  the  windows  on  either 
side.  The  porch  is  not  so  happy  as  that  ot  the  Pitman 
house. 

The  Gray  residence  is  very  tar  from  the  simple  adher- 
ence to  the  Colonial  style  shown  in  the  other  work.     The 

24 


THE  BRIGGS  RESIDENCE 

BROOKLINE,  MASS. 

KILHAM  &  HOPKINS,  ARCHITECTS 


D.  H.   HILL   LI   ■"  '  -)Y 

North  ■    „  , 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
tremendous  overhang  of  the  cornice  and  the  flatness  of  the 
root  show  strong  Italian,  or  even  Spanish,  influence,  while 
the  treatment  of  the  front  porch  as  a  pergola  is  character- 
istically modern.  Compare  the  trellis  with  those  of  the 
Olcott  house,  and  the  difference  between  the  strictly  Colo- 
nial usage  and  the  modern  one  will  be  apparent.  Here  it 
is  arranged  to  form  a  belt  course,  and  its  original  use  as  a 
trellis  for  vines  is,  to  some  extent,  lost  sight  of.  Yet  with- 
out a  single  feature  that  is  Colonial,  this  house  plainly  be- 
longs to  that  class  of  work;  it  may  be  because  the  familiar 
green  and  white  of  its  coloring  so  strongly  recalls  Colonial 
to  our  minds,  yet  it  'is  probably  because  with  all  the  use 
of  unfamiliar  detail,  the  basic  motive  is  precisely  that  of 
the  old  work. 

The  Cheney  residence  by  Mr.  Charles  A.  Piatt  resem- 
bles in  this  respect  the  Gray  residence,  so  far  is  it  from 
type  that  at  times  we  are  tempted  to  call  it  Italian.  Of 
all  those  illustrated  here,  it  is,  perhaps,  the  most  thoroughlv 
modern  although  it  is  also  the  most  restrained.  Sturdy, 
simple,  and  square,  it  is  emphatically  the  most  suitable  resi- 
dence imaginable  tor  a  modern  gentleman  descended  from 
the  old   Puritan  stock.      The  beautiful  balance  and  the  air 

26 


HOUSE  FOR  WILLIAM  H.  GRAY 

DEDHAM,  MASS. 

[AMES   PURDON,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRKD  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
of  utter  sincerity,  with  nothing  done  tor  "effect,"  but  evi- 
dently with  no  sparing  of  time  and  study  to  make  all  things 
perfect,  rank  this  unpretending  house  very  high  in  the  coun- 
try work  of  to-day.  The  interweaving  of  the  old  New 
England  motives  with  those  of  Italy  is  complete  and  inex- 
tricable, and  it  is  this  combination  of  any  historic  styles 
that  seem  to  the  designer  proper,  treated  with  the  utmost 
freedom,  that  is  the  root  indeed  of  the  new  American  archi- 
tecture. While  we  cannot  all  think  so  skilfully  and  in  the 
pure  terms  of  Mr.  Piatt's  using,  it  is  the  idea  present  to  the 
mind  of  everv  man  to-day  who  is  giving  true  and  honest 
expression  to  his  creative  art. 

The  house  at  Pelham  Manor,  New  York,  by  Oswald  C. 
H  ering,  resembles  very  closely  the  Cheney  house.  The  cornice 
treatment,  the  pergolas,  and  the  arrangement  ot  the  win- 
dows in  the  front  are  all  very  similar.  The  chief  differ- 
ence between  the  two  houses  being  the  difference  in 
materials,  Mr.  Hering's  house  being  ot  stucco  where  the 
other  is  ot  brick.  With  a  light-colored  house,  such  as  this 
one,  the  use  ot  blinds  as  a  decorative  motive,  even  when 
they  are  not  required  from  any  point  ot  pure  utility,  is  very 
desirable,  and  the  combination  ot  grav  or  buff  cement,  dull 

28 


THE  CHENEY  RESIDENCE 

SOUTH   MANCHESTER,  MASS. 

CHARLES  A.  PLATT,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

green  blinds  and  white  trim  is  very  frequently  used  in  mod- 
ern work  and  almost  invariably  with  success.  A  complex 
color  scheme  is  very  difficult  for  an  architect  to  handle,  tor 
materials  are  not  as  flexible  as  the  painter's  palette,  and  it 
is  often  necessary  to  confine  the  colors  oi  a  house  to  those 
few  simple  ones  which  are  inherent  in  the  materials  and 
not  obtained  bv  art. 

The  house  at  Needham,  Massachusetts,  of  which  Mr. 
Purdon  is  the  architect,  is  similar  in  design,  but  with  more 
extended  proportion.  Like  the  others,  it  is  composed  of  a 
simple,  central  mass  with  wings;  and  here  the  piazzas  are 
treated  at  the  ends  of  the  wings  instead  of  flanking  the  central 
mass.  The  grouping  of  windows  (what  is  technically  called 
fenestration)  is  different  from  that  of  the  other  two  houses 
most  closely  resembling  it,  and  in  this  respect  is  less  like  the 
older  work.  The  rooms  inside  are  generally  bettered  in 
appearance  by  grouped  windows,  but  it  is  a  more  difficult 
motive  to  treat  in  the  exterior,  as  openings  wider  than  their 
height  are  apt  to  give  a  sense  of  lack  of  strength.  The 
broad  white  belt-course  at  the  second-story  line,  which 
Mr.  Purdon  has  employed,  has  done  much  to  counteract  this 
weakness,  tying  the  building  together,  and  giving  a  feeling 

3° 


HOUSE  FOR  MR.  WITHERBEE  BLACK 

PELHAM  MANOR,  N.  Y. 

O.  C.  HERING,  ARCHITECT 


ONK  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
of  stability  which  would  otherwise  be  lacking.  The  dor- 
mers in  this  house  are  worthy  of  close  attention,  tor  while 
they  are  very  different  from  the  majority  of  Colonial  dor- 
mers they  seem  to  agree  excellently  well  with  the  remainder 
of  the  design,  both  in  mass,  detail,  and  grouping.  The 
front  entrance-porch  deseryes  the  closest  study,  uniting  a 
very  charming  covering  tor  the  tront  doorway  with  the 
second-story  balcony  so  otten  found  desirable  in  country 
houses.  The  laying  of  the  brick,  in  pattern  in  this  house 
is  very  charmingly  done,  and  shows  a  careful  study  of  the 
texture,  essential  to  beauty  in  new  work,  which  is  spoken 
of  in  the  first  chapter. 

The  Swift  house  at  Larchmont,  New  York,  is  quite  different 
in  type  from  these  last  three,  preserving  much  more  the 
Colonial  sentiment,  although  the  root  motive  is  not  as 
purely  of  New  England  origin  as  that  of  the  others.  This 
is  rather  a  combination  of  New  England  with  Dutch  Co- 
lonial, the  New  England  predominating.  Probably  the 
feature  best  worth  study  and  imitation  in  this  house  is  the 
very  charming  piazza.  We  hnd  in  New  England  trellised 
posts  to  support  the  root  and  we  also  hnd  square  posts. 
This  use  of    the  square  posts  in  connection  with  the  trellis 

32 


HOUSE  AT  NEEDHAM,  MASS. 
JAMES  PURDON,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
has  the  advantages  of  both  and  the  disadvantages  of  neither. 
Trellis  without  the  posts  seems  thin  and  weak,  while  the 
use  of  the  square  posts  alone  is  meager  and  lacking  in  in- 
terest. Every  one  has  probablv  noticed  the  charm  of  the 
spider-web  tracery  of  cables  and  ropes  against  the  heavier 
members  of  an  unfinished  steel  structure.  It  is  this  same 
grouping  of  light  and  heavy  members  which  has  been  used 
here  and  the  beauty  of  its  effect  depends  upon  the  same 
causes.  The  setting  ot  the  house  has  evidently  been  very 
carefullv  studied,  the  house  being  placed  so  that  the  large 
trees  hide  the  service  wing,  while  thev  leave  the  main  part 
of  the  house  tree,  except  for  toliage  sufficient  to  relieve  the 
house  from  any  bare  newness  ot  appearance,  so  that,  while 
the  house  had  been  but  just  completed  at  the  time  the 
photograph  here  shown  was  made,  it  seems  as  it  it  had 
been  here  for  years. 

The  examples  which  have  been  presented  show  the  wide 
range  of  results  obtained  trom  the  same  motive,  treated 
by  different  hands  to  suit  different  requirements.  That 
thev  arc  kindred  will  be  evident  to  all;  likewise  that  thev 
arc  individual.  All  ot  them  show  the  impress  ot  the  new 
spirit    which    is   pervading    the    architects    ot   to-day.      Of 

34 


THE  SWIFT  RESIDENCE 

LARCHMONT,  N.  Y. 

EWING  &  CHAPPELL,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
course  there  are  many  houses  being  built  which  are  very 
close  eopies  of  the  old,  often  very  charming  copies,  yet 
these  almost  always  impress  the  observer  as  being  dry,  hard, 
and  lacking  in  interest.  Any  copy,  even  a  mechanically 
correet  one,  lacks  the  beauty  and  charm  which  age  alone 
can  bring;  therefore,  in  new  work  it  is  best  not  to  try  to 
imitate,  but  rather  to  create,  not  disregarding  the  old  work, 
but  drawing  upon  its  meaning  and  ideas  as  they  may  suit 
the  requirements  presented. 


36 


CHAPTER   II 


SOUTHERN  COLONIAL 


T 


HE  earliest  buildings  of  architectural  importance  in 
the  colonies  were  the  old  manor-houses  in  Virginia 
and  Maryland,  and  up  to  twenty  years  before  the  Civil  War 
the  South  continued  to  lead  in  architecture,  as  in  the  lame 
of  their  hospitality,  among  the  country  houses  of  the  land. 
The  earliest  were  of  brick,  imported  because  —  as  their 
builders  thought  —  there  was  no  suitable  clay  in  this  coun- 
try, for  brickmaking,  and  in  design  they  followed  very 
closely  the  English  houses  of  the  same  period. 

Piazzas  were  at  first  little  used,  since  the  English,  with 
all  their  love  of  outdoor  life  have  never  and  do  not  to-day 
build  porches.  The  famous  old  mansion  "Westoyer"  on 
the  James  River  is  the  best-known  example  of  the  period, 
and  is  exceedingly  close  in  its  resemblance  to  the  work  of 
the  English  architects  who  succeeded  Sir  Christopher  Wren. 

The  climate,  however,  soon  convinced  the  colonists  of 

37 


ONE  HUNDRKD  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
the  necessity  of  outdoor  sitting-rooms,  and  it  was  in  the 
South  that  verandas  attained  their  greatest  dignity  and  im- 
portance. Sometimes  they  were  one  story  in  height  as  at 
"Homewood,"  sometimes  they  extended  the  full  height  ot 
the  house  as  at  "Mount  Vernon,"  and  sometimes  they  were 
two-storied,  the  upper  part  called,  as  it  is  to-day,  a  "gal- 
lery." This  two-story  poreh  was  probably  an  importation 
from  the  West  Indian  colonies,  where  it  was  a  reminiscence 
of  the  Spanish  "patio"  with  its  two  or  more  stories  of  gal- 
leries surrounding  the  courtyard. 

With  the  growth  of  plantation  lite  came  a  correspond- 
ing increase  in  the  plan  of  the  house.  Elsewhere,  the  ser- 
vice portion  was  contained  in  the  main  body  of  the  house; 
and  business  was  rarely  transacted  at  home.  Here  the  heat 
of  the  summer  made  it  desirable  to  remove  all  tires  from 
the  living  and  sleeping  rooms,  and  the  administration  ot 
the  plantation  was  the  business  ot  the  house's  occupant;  so 
in  time  there  grew  into  the  plans  two  wings,  one  tor  the 
kitchen  and  store-rooms,  and  the  other  tor  the  transaction 
of  business.  "  Mount  Vernon  "  is,  ot  course,  a  very  tamiliar 
example  of  this  arrangement. 

A  similar  development  took  place  in  building  materials. 

3« 


"EASTOVER" 

WYOMING,  N.  J. 

JOY  WHEELER  DOW,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
Wood  was  found  to  be  easier  to  obtain  and  eheaper  to  use 
than  brick;  while  equally  good  results,  both  in  comfort 
and  appearance,  were  possible  with  its  use.  So  wood  ar- 
chitecture began  to  make  its  appearance,  and  while  it  never 
crowded  out  brick  as  it  did  in  New  England,  it  was  still 
much  used  even  tor  the  larger  and  handsomer  class  of 
dwellings. 

A  marked  point  of  difference  between  Southern  and 
Northern  work  was  in  the  height  ot  the  ceilings.  In  New 
England  and  the  Middle  States  it  was  highly  important 
to  have  as  few  cubic  feet  ot  space  as  possible  to  heat 
through  the  long,  cold  winters,  while  in  the  South  the 
airiness  and  coolness  ot  the  high  ceilings  was  a  necessity  in 
midsummer. 

The  old  architecture  of  the  tar  South  at  New  Orleans 
and  along  the  Gulf,  has  had  little  influence  oyer  modern 
work  except  in  its  own  locality.  This  is  much  to  be  re- 
gretted, for  some  ot  the  most  beautiful  Colonial  work  in 
America  is  to  be  found  there,  and  is  little  known  by  most 
architects.  Some  is,  of  course,  situated  tar  from  the  cities, 
and  the  very  knowledge  ot  it  would  come  only  by  accident, 
but  there  remains  a  great  body  ot  material  readily  accessible 

40 


X. 


THE  SAMUEL  ADAMS  HOUSE 

SEWICKLEY,  PA. 

ALDEN  &  HARLOW,  ARCHITECTS 


ONK    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

to  the  student  of  bvgone  times.  The  early  work  around 
Philadelphia,  on  the  other  hand,  has  had  great  influence  on 
the  modern;  but  as  it  is  similar  in  character  to  the 
Virginia  work,  houses  derived  from  it  will  be  classed  with 
the  Southern  ones. 

Of  the  very  earliest  type  is  "  Kastover,"  the  brick  resi- 
dence at  Orange  shown  in  the  hrst  illustration.  This  is 
prettv  plainly  indicated  by  its  analogy  to  old  "Westover" 
not  only  in  name  but  in  design.  While  much  smaller  than 
the  original,  it  preserves  the  simple  dignity  and  grace  of 
the  older  house,  and  that  with  many  departures  from  old 
lines.  Bay-windows  were  almost  unknown  in  Colonial 
days,  yet  here  is  one  absolutely  fitting  to  the  house,  and 
charming  in  itself.  The  double  break  in  the  wall  where 
the  bay  joins  the  flat  surface  of  the  house  may  be  the  secret 
of  the  success  of  the  treatment,  but  it  probably  lies  deeper 
—  in  the  thorough  sympathy  between  the  designer  and  the 
style. 

While  the  Adams  house  is  like  "Kastover"  it  is  much 
more  modern  in  treatment.  The  front  up  to  the  cornice 
is  a  very  simple  and  charming  design  of  the  old  type,  with 
a  doorway   of   unusual    beauty;    while   the  side   is   entirely 

42 


HOUSE  OF  DR.  A.  C.  CABOT 

CANTON,  MASS. 

CHARLES  A.  PLATT,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

unlike  any  of  the  old  houses,  vet  the  whole  seheme  hangs 
together,  and  the  exceeding  eleverness  of  the  treatment  of 
the  side  elevation  beeomes  apparent  only  after  careful 
study.  Where  a  change  in  the  direction  of  the  ridge  of  the 
roof  occurs  a  break  in  the  wall  surface  at  once  suggests  it- 
self, in  fact,  is  almost  requisite,  yet  the  plan  itself  may  be 
such  as  to  make  this  break  impossible.  Such  a  case  is 
eyidentlv  before  us,  and  by  the  simple  expedient  of  a  leader 
at  the  rear  termination  of  the  gable  the  effect  of  this  break 
is  produced.  The  window  treatment  on  the  front  is 
symmetrical  to  the  point  of  formality;  on  the  side  the 
windows  cut  through  the  walls  apparently  at  their  own  will, 
yet  the  whole  is  in  harmony.  The  placing  of  the  house 
with  the  trees  is  also  well  done,  and  the  terrace  helps  the 
agreeable  effect  produced. 

Dr.  Cabot's  house  at  Canton,  Massachusetts,  is  in  com- 
position much  like  the  house  by  Mr.  Purdon,  at  Needham, 
shown  in  the  previous  chapter.  Composed  of  a  simple 
central  mass  dominating  the  wings,  at  the  ends  of  which  are 
the  piazzas,  it  is  much  like  this  New  England  Colonial 
house;  and  the  grouping  of  the  windows,  too,  is  similar.  It 
is  in  this  similarity  that  lies  the  difficulty  of  dividing  modern 


HOUSE  OF  HOWARD  CLARK 

BRISTOL,  R.  I. 

CHARLES  A.  PLATT,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
work  into  classes  derived  from  older  sources.  The  sources 
themselves  are  often  much  alike,  and  it  is  impossible  to  be 
absolutely  certain  of  the  root  idea  in  every  case,  and  it  may 
be  that  the  architects  of  the  houses  would  differ  very  widely 
from  their  classification  as  here  given,  although  the  arrange- 
ment has  been  the  subject  of  much  thought  and  study. 
So  these  two  houses,  although  thev  so  closelv  resemble  each 
other,  arc  placed  under  different  headings  because  in  them 
there  is  that  subtle  difference  of  sentiment  which  seems  to 
stamp  one  as  the  descendant  of  Northern,  and  the  other  of 
Southern,  work. 

The  Cabot  house  almost  speaks  for  itself.  It  seems  un- 
necessary to  call  to  the  reader's  attention  the  beautv  of 
mass  and  of  detail  apparent  everywhere  in  the  design.  The 
very  great  area  of  the  windows  as  compared  with  the  mass 
of  the  building  presents  a  problem  not  easy  of  solution.  Too 
great  a  window  surface  is  apt  to  break  up  a  single  mass  into 
its  component  parts;  here  by  the  strength  of  the  white  lines 
of  the  terrace  at  the  bottom  and  the  cornice  at  the  top  of 
this  building  the  unity  of  the  house  is  preserved,  while  the 
large  window  surface  suggests  air  and  sun  in  the  rooms 
within.       The  four  great  chimneys  flanking  the  main   roof 

46 


RESIDENCE  OF  E.  R.  THOMAS 

SHEEPSHEAD  BAY,  N.  Y. 

LIONEL  MOSES,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
arc  a  favorite  motive  in  the  old  work,  but  it  is   not  always 
easy  to  adjust  a   modern  plan  so  that  it   not  only  fits,  but 
requires  them.      When  this  is  possible  they  form,  as  in  this 
case,  a  very  delightful  feature  of  the  design. 

The  Clark  house  at  Bristol,  Rhode  Island,  suggests  the 
Cabot  house,  as  might  be  expected  from  two  examples 
of  the  work  of  the  same  man.  The  treatment  of  the  triple 
openings  is  quite  different  from  that  in  the  Cabot  house, 
and  is  very  original.  The  brick  loggia  at  the  right  of  the 
house  recalls  the  gallery  between  the  main  building  and  the 
service  quarters  of  the  old-time  plantation  house.  Like  the 
old  work,  too,  are  the  dormers,  bare  to  simplicity,  and  the 
best  that  could  be  designed  for  this  type  of  roof.  Higher 
or  more  decorated  dormers  would  have  given  a  ragged  sky- 
line, and  spoiled  the  singleness  of  the  composition. 

The  residence  of  which  Mr.  Moses  was  the  architect  is 
in  design  more  like  those  houses  which  were  later  built 
under  the  influence  of  the  Greek  Revival,  than  the  true 
Colonial  type,  while  the  details  follow  this  last-named 
period.  As  has  been  noted  with  regard  to  other  houses, 
this  is  beautifully  fit  for  the  location.  The  trees  and  the 
broad,  sweeping   road,  as  well   as  the  generous  lines  of  the 


RESIDENCE  OF  ERNESTUS  GULICK 

GARDEN  CITY  ESTATES,  L.  I. 

KIRBY,  PETIT  &  GREEN,  ARCHITECTS 


ONK    HUNDRKD   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

design,  suggest  ample  comfort  in  the  house.  The  harmony 
in  stvle  between  this  new  house  and  the  quaint  old  barn 
beyond  shows  exceedingly  well  how  new  work  should  be 
treated  to  correspond  with  its  surroundings,  a  feature  not 
often  enough  thought  about,  and  which  always  deserves 
the  most  serious  consideration. 

The  Gulick  house  at  Garden  City  Estates  is  similar  in 
type,  but  with  the  two-story  portico  across  the  front  and 
smaller  porches  at  the  ends.  The  roof  of  this  house  is  the 
familiar  Dutch  double-pitch  roof,  probably  never  used  in 
the  South  at  the  period  when  houses  of  this  class  were 
built,  but  it  is  evidently  suitable  for  its  purpose.  "Mount 
Vernon"  was  evidently  in  the  designer's  mind  as  a  standard 
and  he  did  not  fall  below  it.  The  gardening,  too,  is  very 
well  done. 

The  Frankenburg  house  and  the  Wise  residence  are  alike 
in  composition,  but  different  in  detail,  as  befits  their  execu- 
tion in  different  materials.  The  very  delicate  and  simple 
cornice  of  the  Wise  house  corresponds  beautifully  with  the 
pattern  of  the  brickwork,  and  the  porch  treatment  comes 
just  at  the  right  place  upon  the  facade.  The  lattices  used 
in  railings  and  to  decorate  the  windows  constitute  perhaps 

5° 


THE  FRANKENBERG  HOUSE 

GREENWICH,  CONN. 

HALE  &  ROGERS,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
the  most  interesting  feature  of  the  Frankenburg  house, 
while  the  treatment  of  the  porch  with  projecting  beam- 
ends  in  place  of  a  cornice,  and  the  same  arrangement  over 
the  arcade  in  the  center  is  one  which,  while  thoroughly 
modern  in  sentiment,  accords  with  the  character  of  the 
building.  The  arcade  is  a  feature  which  has  been  evolved 
from  the  study  of  the  architecture  of  the  Renaissance  and 
one  which  is  now  coming  to  its  own  as  a  treatment  for  the 
exterior  walls  of  a  sun-parlor,  or  living-room.  It  is  un- 
fortunate this  photograph  should  have  been  taken  so  soon 
after  the  completion  of  the  building,  for  the  stone  wall 
which  here  looks  too  heavy  and  clumsy  for  the  remainder 
of  the  building,  would  when  covered  with  vines  and  hidden 
by  shrubberv  be  a  most  charming  adjunct. 

The  Reed  house  at  Haverford,  Pennsylvania,  is  of  local 
material  and  design.  Executed  in  brick,  this  would  recall  very 
strongly  the  work  of  Maryland  and  Virginia,  but  in  the 
buff  sandstone  of  which  it  is  actually  constructed  it  is  of 
the  true  old  Philadelphia  type.  This  stone  was  constantly 
used  by  the  Colonial  builders,  and  is  still  much  used  in  the 
beautiful  suburban  work  of  the  Philadelphia  architects. 
An    unusual    and    interesting    feature    of    this    house    is    the 

52 


C.  L.  WISE  RESIDENCE 

EAST  ORANGE,  N.  J. 

PERCY  GRIFFIN,  ARCHITECT 


ONE   HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

painting  of  the  blinds  green  in  the  second  story  and  white 
in  the  first.  The  semi-circular  windows  on  each  side  ot 
the  chimney  in  the  gable-end  are  delightful  in  pattern, 
while  the  treatment  of  the  cornice  across  the  gable-end, 
forming  a  shingled  hood,  is  charming.  It  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  exigencies  of  the  third-rloor  arrangement  required 
the  double  dormers,  but  it  is  in  such  minor  details  that 
modern  needs,  calling  for  more  light  and  sunshine  than 
seemed  to  suit  our  ancestors,  require  the  sacrifice  of  ap- 
pearance to  comfort. 

In  most  of  these  examples  there  have  been  many  extra- 
neous elements  introduced,  yet  all  of  them  owe  their  genesis 
to  the  few  and  simple  motives  of  the  older  architecture. 
While  some  of  their  designers  have  been  content  to  accept 
the  old  motives  substantially  unchanged,  others  prefer  to 
use  them  only  as  aground-work;  but  all  are  using  them  in 
a  way  which  makes  them  their  own,  and  with  a  proper 
subordination  of  precedent  to  design. 


54 


HOUSE  OF  PROFESSOR  L.  W.  REID 

HAVERFORD,  PA. 

BAILEY  &  BASSETT,  ARCHITECTS 


CHAPTER  III 


CLASSIC   REVIVAL 


ABOUT  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century  in 
■*-  ■*-  America  the  forms  of  the  old  Colonial  work  were 
merged  into,  and  superseded  by,  the  style  known  as  the 
Classic  Revival.  The  Colonial  architecture  of  New  Eng- 
land and  of  the  South  which  has  been  illustrated  in  the  two 
preceding  chapters  was,  although  a  descendant,  a  very  far- 
away descendant  of  the  Greek  and  Roman  forms.  The 
Classic  Revival  was  a  very  close  adaptation  of  the  original 
types  to  the  needs  of  that  day. 

The  causes  of  this  were  touched  upon  in  the  introduc- 
tion. The  passion  for  the  Classic  political  ideal,  which 
forms  so  curious  a  phase  of  the  French  Revolution,  was 
only  one  manifestation  of  an  everywhere  dominant  interest 
in  the  manners  and  life  of  the  great  Classic  era.  Know- 
ledge had  become  more  wide-spread  throughout  Western 
Europe  than  it  had  been  since  the  days  of  Roman  oeeupa- 

5* 


CLASSIC    REVIVAL 

tion.  This  knowledge  brought  in  its  train  an  eager  ques- 
tioning curiosity  in  regard  to  all  things  Classic.  Corruption 
was  rite,  and  in  the  reaction  against  it  people  naturally 
turned  their  eves  back  to  that  time  which  seemed  to  them 
the  Golden  Age,  not  realizing  that  the  eighteenth  century 
was  purity  itself  compared  with  imperial   Rome. 

The  interest  in  all  things  artistic  followed  the  interest  in 
things  intellectual,  and  jewelry,  dress,  and  architecture  were 
alike  remodeled  along  pseudo-classic  lines.  As  the  only 
remains  of  antique  architecture  existing  were  temples  (tor 
Pompeii  had  not  vet  been  discoyered)  it  was  the  temple 
torm  upon  which  was  based  the  reviyal  ot  the  Classic  type. 
Since  the  original  temple  had  no  windows  it  was  naturally 
something  ot  a  problem  to  adapt  it  to  use  as  a  dwelling. 
The  solution  arriyed  at  in  most  cases  was  simply  to  use  the 
temple  portico  as  a  piazza  and  to  employ  the  usual  type  ot 
dwelling-house,  with  a  complete  change  ot  detail  from  the 
slim  proportions  of  the  Colonial  to  the  heavy  Roman,  and 
still  heayier  Greek.  The  portico  then  occupied  the  position 
ot  the  older  piazza  on  the  long  side  of  the  house;  but  some- 
times an  attempt  was  made  to  adhere  more  strictly  to  the 
temple  shape  and  the  portico  was   placed   on  the   end  and 

SI 


ONK    HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSKS 

windows  were  punched  in  the  walls  where  necessary.  In 
this  type  the  full  entablature  of  architrave,  frieze,  and  cornice 
was  retained;  and  as  this  was  very  wide,  in  small  houses  the 
second-story  windows  were  cut  in  the  frieze, resulting  in  the 
low  broad  windows  close  to  the  floor  which  have  been  so 
aptly  called  " lie-on-your-stomach-windows,"  after  the  posi- 
tion needed  to  look  out  of  them. 

The  Mathers  farm-house  and  the  residence  of  Dr.  Marsden 
are  very  frankly  like  the  old  work.  In  each  case  a  simple 
four-columned  portico  supporting  a  pediment  is  used  as  a 
frontispiece  with  the  main  body  of  the  house  running 
across  it.  The  use  of  the  red  brick  with  the  white  porch 
was  exceedinglv  common  and  of  unfailing  charm.  The 
portico  is  here  treated  with  a  full  entablature  (that  is, 
architrave,  frieze,  and  cornice)  over  the  columns,  while  the 
cornice  only  continues  around  the  house. 

In  the  Marsden  house  the  order  is  the  familiar  Roman 
Doric,  while  the  broad  steps  across  the  entire  front  of  the 
piazza  remind  us  very  strongly  of  the  original  temple.  The 
semi-circular  window  in  the  pediment  over  the  portico  is, 
of  course,  a  reminiscence  of  the  earlier  Colonial  work,  no 
windows   being   used   in    temple   pediments.       It    is  such   a 

58 


RESIDENCE  OF  DR.  MARSDEN 

CHESTNUT  HILL,  PA. 

CHARLES  BARTON  KEEN,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRKI)   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

happv  adjustment  as  this  of  old  forms  to  new  needs  which 
makes  the  difference  between  copying  and  design.  Evidence 
of  careful  and  painstaking  study  is  shown  also  in  the  treat- 
ment of  the  fence  and  gate-posts  and  the  sweep  of  the  drive 
to  the  house.  The  wing  at  the  right,  forming  the  doctor's 
office,  while  only  one  story  high,  is  admirably  in  keeping 
with  the  rest  of  the  design,  and  vet  is  subordinated  to  the 
main  house  in  surface  treatment  by  the  lattice-work,  as 
well  as  in  height. 

The  Mathers  farm-house  is  greatly  like  the  first  example, 
but  the  order  is  Ionic  instead  of  Doric,  and  the  roof  is 
gabled  instead  of  hipped.  Unusual  is  the  use  of  four  stories, 
three  in  the  bodv  of  the  house,  and  one  in  the  attic,  and 
it  presents  an  immensely  difficult  problem,  here  beautifully 
solved.  The  use  of  the  big  "order"  in  the  front  of  the 
building  serves  to  attract  the  eye  away  from  the  building 
itself,  and  aids  in  tying  the  whole  structure  to  the  ground. 
While  perhaps  the  stable  archway,  through  which  this  pic- 
ture is  taken,  should  not  be  included  in  the  criticism  of 
the  house,  the  quality  of  the  stonework  is  so  lovely  as  to 
be  well  worth  comment.  Half  the  charm  of  stonework  lies 
in   the  proper   relation    between  the   size    of    the   stone   and 

60 


THE  MATHERS  FARM-HOUSE 

GERMANTOWN,  PA. 

CHARLES  BARTON  KEEN,  ARCHITECT 


ONK    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

its  position,  here  absolutely  perfect,  while  the  rough  sur- 
face of  the  stone  and  the  wide  joints  give  an  exceedingly 
pleasing  texture  to  the  whole. 

These  two  houses  just  described  adhere  pretty  closely  to 
their  prototypes.  They  might  almost  have  come  from  the 
campus  of  the  University  of  Virginia,  and  yet  it  is  evident 
that  they  are  not  simply  copies,  but  the  expression  ot  an 
original  and  creative  mind.  It  is  difficult  to  place  one's 
hnger  upon  points  oi  unlikeness  to  the  older  work,  vet 
thev  are,  in  common  with  houses  ot  the  most  original  de- 
sign, imbued  with  the  modern  spirit. 

The  Chapman  house,  ot  which  Mr.  Piatt  was  the  archi- 
tect, is  somewhat  different  in  character,  although  the 
motive  is  the  same:  namely,  a  portico  on  the  longer  tace 
of  the  building.  The  original  Classic  detail  is  blended 
with  strong  reminiscences  ot  both  Italian  and  French 
Renaissance.  The  portico  is  compressed  toward  the  tace 
ot  the  building  with  three-quarter  "engaged  columns"  in- 
stead ot  tree  standing  ones.  The  one-story  porch  at  the 
left-hand  end  employs  a  motive  which  is  every  day  becom- 
ing more  usual  in  modern  country-housework:  the  treat- 
ment   ot     the     root     with     projecting    beam-ends,    like     a 

62 


RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  JOHN  CHAPMAN 

TARRYTOWN,  N.  Y. 

CHARLES  A.  PLATT,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
pergola,  although  the  root  itself  is  closed,  offering  a  beauti- 
ful opportunity  for  the  growth  of  vines  along  the  top  of 
the  porch,  and  at  the  same  time  giving  a  protection  against 
sun  and  rain.  The  little  iron  balconies  on  the  central 
motive  are  deserving  of  attention,  as  are  the  flower-boxes 
between  the  windows  of  the  first  and  second  stories  on  the 
flanking  wings.  In  this  house  the  full  entablature  is  con- 
tinued completely  around,  not  stopping  against  the  main 
body  of  the  house,  as  was  the  case  in  the  previous  examples. 
The  Probst  residence  at  Englewood,  New  Jersey,  is  still 
another  application  of  the  same  principles,  but  in  unusual 
combination  with  the  so-called  "Dutch"  or  "gambreP 
root.  The  walls  are  of  clapboards,  like  the  New  England 
houses,  and  the  porch  instead  of  having  the  columns  spaced 
nearly  equal  has  them  combined  in  pairs  at  either  side  of 
the  center,  marking  the  entrance.  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
no  photograph  does  this  house  justice,  the  beauty  of  the 
detail  being  largely  lost,  and  the  effect  of  the  mass  of  the 
house  injured,  by  the  shadows  cast  by  the  clapboards,  which 
in  reality  play  a  very  small  part  in  the  appearance.  The 
dormers,  however,  can  here  be  seen  to  good  advantage,  and 
are  as  thoughtfully  studied  as  in  any  example  given,  while 

6  + 


RESIDENCE  FOR   MRS.  PROBST 

ENGLEWOOD,  N.  J. 

DAVIS,  McGRATH  &  SHEPARD,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

the  treatment  of  the  pediment  over  the  main  portico  is, 
perhaps,  the  most  interesting  of  all. 

In  the  Pyne  residence  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  the 
pediment  is  omitted,  the  front  of  the  building  being  deco- 
rated with  a  colonnade  of  six  beautifully  proportioned 
Ionic  columns,  with  a  simple  and  sturdy  entablature  above. 
An  interesting  feature  of  this  entablature  is  the  use  of  the 
"  cushion  frieze,"  so  called  from  its  curved  section,  instead 
of  the  more  usual  straight  frieze.  The  house  is  the  largest 
of  which  a  photograph  is  here  included,  and  has  been  re- 
tained because  of  its  quiet,  simple,  and  home-like  character. 
The  great  difficulty  in  the  design  of  a  house  of  this  size  is 
to  make  it  a  home  and  not  a  show-place,  and  Mr.  Gilder- 
sleeve's  success  in  combining  with  the  breadth  and  dignity 
of  the  treatment  an  intimate  and  personal  quality  is  note- 
worthy. 

The  Ramsay  house  is  under  the  influence  of  the  Greek 
Revival.  The  columns  somewhat  more  attenuated  than  is 
usual,  are  treated  with  the  bell-formed  capital,  which  was 
the  earliest  Corinthian  capital  used  by  the  Greeks.  Here, 
too,  is  used  the  "cushion  frieze."  It  is  to  be  regretted  that 
the  windows  of  this  house  were  not  divided  into  small  panes, 

66 


M.  TAYLOR  PYNE  HOI 

PRINCETON,  N 

RALEIGH  C.  GILDERSLEEVE,  ARCHITE 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
as  is  customary  in  work  of  this  character,  but  large  panes 
are  very  frequently  insisted  upon  bv  clients  who  think  more 
or  an  unobstructed  view  than  or  the  exterior  effect.  All 
houses  are  a  series  of  compromises,  and  after  all  the  wishes 
of  the  client  should  be  the  governing  factor.  Dormers 
play  a  very  great  part  in  the  appearance  of  all  houses,  and 
the  many  types  which  may  be  properly  and  consistently  used 
with  Colonial  houses  form  a  constant  source  of  pleasure  to 
the  student  of  this  work,  while  nothing  mars  more  seriously 
the  appearance  of  a  building  than  dormers  when  they  are 
badly  designed  or  placed.  These  on  the  Ramsay  house 
are  unusual  but  good  in  character. 

The  residence  of  Alfred  Busselle  is  a  very  radical  departure 
in  mass  from  the  work  of  the  Classic  Revival,  while  because 
of  its  preservation  of  the  older  detail  it  clearly  belongs  under 
this  heading.  The  dormers  breaking  through  the  cornice 
are  entirely  unheard  of  in  the  older  work  and  form  inter- 
esting secondary  motives  of  the  design.  The  use  of  the 
piazza  under  a  portion  of  the  house  is  another  very  modern 
feature,  as  is  the  tying  of  the  design  together  by  the  heavy 
entablature  at  the  top  of  the  single-story  columns  of"  the 
piazza.       These  columns  are   typically  Creek   Doric,  as   arc 

68 


THE   RAMSAY  HOUSE 

CLEVELAND,  OHIO 

ELZNER  &  ANDERSON,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

the  details,  and  that  details  as  pure  as  these  ean  be  applied 
to  a  Dutch  roof  as  successfully  as  is  here  proven  indicates 
how  free  is  the  modern  use  of  the  old  materials. 

Mr.  Wyatt's  residence  at  Baltimore  is  modeled  upon  one 
of  the  big  square  houses  which  were  built  at  the  very  end 
of  the  period  of  the  Classic  Revival.  Most  of  them,  built 
of  brick  with  their  severity  and  lack  of  grace  only  relieved 
by  the  lovely  detail  of  the  windows  and  entrance-doors, 
look  like  enlarged  packing-boxes.  Here,  however,  this  old, 
clumsy  motive  is  so  skilfully  used  and  so  accurately  placed 
in  its  surroundings,  that  in  spite  of  its  uncompromising  lines 
it  is  truly  a  beautiful  and  refined  piece  of  architecture.  To 
successfully  design  a  building  of  this  shape  requires  the 
most  careful  and  thorough  study  of  the  proportions  of  the 
window-openings  to  the  mass;  of  the  cornice  to  the  build- 
ing which  it  surmounts,  and  the  most  skilful  handling  of 
the  porches  and  entrance.  Even  these  would  go  for  noth- 
ing were  the  proper  setting  unobtainable,  but  when,  as 
here,  all  things  are  in  harmony,  the  tree  shadows,  the  de- 
tail, and  the  mass  all  work  together  to  make  a  lovely  pic- 
ture. The  high  measure  of  success  attained  here  means 
much  more  than    it  would  with   a  building  of  more   inter- 


0 


RESIDENCE  OF  ALFRED  BUSSELLE 

CHAPPAQUA,  N.  Y. 

ALFRED  BUSSELLE,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
esting   roof-lines    and   greater   possibilities    for    picturesque 
treatment.       It   will    remain   a  never-tailing  lesson   in   what 
may  be  done  with  few  and  simple  features. 

The  work  of  the  Classic  Revival  was  marked  by  dignity, 
reserve,  and  a  certain  ample  simplicity.  The  examples  pre- 
sented are  all,  with  the  exception  of  the  Busselle  house,  rather 
more  monumental  than  picturesque.  They  suggest  square 
high-ceilinged  rooms,  severe  and  simple  furniture,  rooms 
light,  clean  and  orderly.  The  first  four  are  of  Roman  detail, 
the  second  four  of  Greek,  but  all  convey  an  impression  of 
dignity  without  the  least  suggestion  of  the  grandiose. 


72 


MR.  WYATT'S  RESIDENCE 

BALTIMORE,  MD. 

WYATT  &  NOLTING,  ARCHITECTS 


CHAPTER  IV 


DUTCH  COLONIAL 


OF  totally  different  character  from  the  Colonial  work 
done  in  other  parts  of  the  United  States,  and  the 
work  of  the  Classic  Revival,  was  the  architecture  of  the 
Dutch  settlers  in  the  neighborhood  of  New  York.  The 
old  farm-houses  —  so  many  of  which  have  fortunately  been 
preserved  in  the  early  Dutch  settlements  at  Flatbush  and 
Flushing  on  Long  Island,  and  at  Hackensack,Schraalenburg, 
and  Demarest,  in  New  Jersey  —  were  of  a  type  very  differ- 
ent from  the  formal  and  symmetrical  houses  built  by  the 
Colonial  settlers  of  Knglish  descent. 

The  architecture  of  Holland  has  always  been  famous  for 
its  picturesque  quality  and  blood  tells  in  art  as  well  as  in 
manners.  The  feature  which  gave  most  quaintness  to  the 
American  work  was  the  familiar  Dutch  or  gambrel  roof. 
Just  why  this  roof  should  have  been  so  common  around 
New  York  is  hard  to  say.      In  Holland  it  is  rarely,  if  ever, 

74 


A  REAL  ESTATE  OFFICE 

WOODMERE,L.  I. 

CHARLES  BARTON  KEEN,  ARCHITECT 


ONK    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

seen,  and  while  it  was  occasionally  used  in  other  portions 
of  the  Colonies  it  was  the  exception  always.  It  is  a  shape 
which  lends  itself  admirably  well  to  a  picturesque  treatment, 
carrying  the  lines  of  the  house  well  down  to  the  ground, 
especially  when  terminating  in  the  broad  sweeping  curves 
usual  in  most  of  the  old  work.  These  curves  are  seldom 
reproduced  in  modern  times,  principally  because  of  the  great 
labor  involved  in  their  construction.  Labor  was  a  small 
item  to  the  old  settlers  and  when  every  beam  had  to  be 
hewn  out  by  hand  with  an  ax,  it  was  not  much  more  diffi- 
cult to  hew  a  curved  than  a  straight  timber;  to-day,  when 
all  lumber  is  wrought  out  by  machjne,  the  curved  line  in- 
volves a  very  heavy  expense.  Another  feature  of  the  old 
houses  which  impresses  itself  strongly  upon  the  observer  is 
a  cheerful  disregard  of  uniformity  of  material.  It  was  by 
no  means  uncommon  to  find  a  single  small  farm-house  with 
the  four  walls  of  different  materials,  stone  on  one  gable-end 
and  brick  on  the  other,  with  stucco  for  the  front  and  rear 
walls,  and  perhaps  the  extension  of  shingles.  Just  why  it 
is  that  the  use  of  stucco  is  so  common  in  the  Dutch  work 
is  another  of  those  fascinating  problems  which  constantly 
confront    students    of   Colonial   architecture.        Stucco   was 

76 


HOUSE  FOR  MRS.  J.  E.  SPEER 

LOS  ANGELES,  CAL. 

MYRON  HUNT  &  ELMER  GREY,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRKD  COIN  TRY  HOUSES 
very  rarely  employed  in  the  English  settlements  —  except 
near  Philadelphia  —  though  the  English,  at  home,  built  a 
very  large  number  of  their  farm-houses  of  stucco;  and  its 
use  in  Holland  was  as  rare  as  it  was  common  in  England. 
Stone,  too,  was  practically  unknown  in  Holland,  the  flat, 
low  character  of  the  country  offering  no  building-stone  at 
all.  Yet  here  a  good  halt  of  the  houses  are  of  stone,  and 
many  of  these  ot  both  stone  and  stucco.  In  the  details, 
too,  the  Dutch  was  widely  dissimilar  from  the  other  Colo- 
nial work.  Their  simplicity  was  quaint,  rather  than  seyere, 
and  while  it  is  uncommon  to  rind  in  Northern  or  Southern 
work  any  molding  which  cannot  be  directly  traced  to  some 
Classic  prototype,  in  the  Dutch  work  much  of  the  detail  of 
the  moldings  was  distinctly  Gothic.  The  columns  had  gen- 
erally square  or  octagonal  shafts,  with  caps  and  bases  ot 
pure  Gothic  form.  In  the  modern  adaptation  ot  Dutch 
architecture  more  freedom  has  been  used  than  with  any 
other  of  the  early  American  styles,  because  this  style,  itself 
exceedingly  free,  lends  itself  very  easily  to  variations  and 
adaptations  never  employed  by  its  originators.  The  Gothic 
detail,  so  constantly  employed  in  the  older  work,  has  been 
generally    lost   in    the   modern.      Architects    ot    to-day    are 

7« 


THE  CRENSHAW  COTTAGE 

GERMANTOWN,  PA. 

WILSON  EYRE,  ARCHITECT 


ONK    HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

trained  in  classical  schools,  and  while  their  design  is  often 
spontaneous  and  without  scholastic  severity,  at  the  same 
time  it  is  almost  impossible  for  them  to  forget  the  formulae 
with  which  they  started  their  training.  Then,  too,  the  mate- 
rials, as  used  now, are  fewer  in  number  than  in  Colonial  times. 
What  was  in  old  work  na'ivete,  in  a  present-day  design  would 
be  affectation.  As  has  already  been  said,  the  use  of  the 
wide,  swinging  eaves  of  the  earlier  work  has  been  generally 
abandoned  because  of  the  difficulties  attending  its  execution. 
In  spite  of  these  points  of  diversion  from  type  much  of 
the  country-house  work  that  is  most  truly  modern  and  most 
truly  American,  is  unquestionably  of   Dutch  genesis. 

Such  a  house  as  that  by  Charles  Barton  Keen,  shown  in 
the  first  illustration  in  this  chapter,  is  unmistakably  Dutch. 
And  yet  if  we  except  the  shape  of  the  roof  and  the  general 
proportion  of  the  building  it  has  not  one  truly  Dutch 
characteristic.  Since  the  Dutch  used  no  dormers  it  is  need- 
less to  say  that  those  used  here,  both  the  projecting  one  in 
the  center  and  the  recessed  ones  at  the  sides,  are  not  Dutch. 
The  big,  circular  pillar  at  each  corner  with  the  quaint 
brackets  under  the  eaves  is  Dutch  only  in  spirit,  while  the 
hood  with  its  shell-formed  arch  over  the  front-door  reminds 

80 


COTTAGE  OF  MR.  HENRY  S.  ORR 

GARDEN  CITY,  L.  I. 

AYMAR   EMBURY  II,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
us  of  New  England.  The  use  of  stucco  tor  the  first  story 
and  wide  white  shingles  for  the  second-story  gable-ends, 
with  the  dark-colored  shingled  roof,  is  almost  the  accepted 
blend  of  materials  in  present-day  work  of  this  kind,  and 
while  the  house  is  not  lacking  in  dignity,  it  is  far  from  be- 
ing of  that  somewhat  rigid  kind  obsenable  in  the  New 
England  and  Southern  work. 

The  Sneer  residence  at  Los  Angeles,  California,  shows 
how  tar-reaching  has  been  the  effect  of  those  unpreten- 
tious Dutch  farm-houses  built,  almost  without  thought 
of  their  design,  around  New  York.  Of  the  examples  shown 
in  this  chapter  it  is  the  simplest,  both  in  materials  and  in 
color,  filled  with  the  spirit  of  the  old  work  and  yet  thor- 
oughly modern.  All  of  soft  gray  tones,  even  to  the  trim 
of  the  windows,  it  woidd  be  monotonous  were  it  not  tor 
the  texture  of  the  walls,  produced  by  the  use  of  wide  and 
heayy  shingles.  The  beautiful  grouping  of  the  windows  in 
the  second-story  gable,  united  by  the  shingled  hood  above 
them,  and  the  extremely  quiet  and  natural  treatment  of  the 
dormers,  are  points  especially  worthy  of  notice  and  imita- 
tion. A  house  built  as  this  one  is,  with  casement-windows 
of   square   panes,  always  possesses  a   certain    advantage   over 

82 


"APPLEDORE" 

BOUND  BROOK,   NEW  JERSEY 

AYMAR   EMBURY  II,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 
one  with  the  usual  double-hung  windows  because,  for  some 
reason  difficult  of  explanation,  the  heavy  cross-bar,  cutting 
horizontally  in  two  the  double-hung  window,  is  not  so  agree- 
able as  the  vertical  lines  of  the  casement-windows. 

This  may  be  seen  by  comparison  with  the  Crenshawe 
cottage,  Mr.  Wilson  Eyre,  architect,  where  again  restfulness 
is  the  salient  feature  of  the  design.  Few  though  its  ele- 
ments are,  they  are  few  because  of  careful  study,  and  there 
is  no  hint  of  poverty  of  thought  apparent.  In  many  respects 
the  Crenshawe  cottage  and  the  Woodmere  real-estate  office 
are  very  similar,  differing  only  as  the  minds  of  their  de- 
signers differed  as  to  the  handling  of  the  details.  The  use 
of  the  brackets  under  the  eaves  is  confined  to  these  two 
houses  among  the  examples  here  given.  The  brackets 
themselves  are  quite  different,  one  being  concave  and  the 
other  convex,  those  in  the  Crenshawe  house  more  a  struc- 
tural feature,  those  in  the  Woodmere  cottage  used  rather 
as  a  decoration.  Here,  the  treatment  of  the  second  story, 
in  one  long  simple  dormer  instead  of  presenting  a  com- 
bination of  several  elements,  is  exceedingly  interesting.  The 
terrace,  with  its  stucco  wall,  leading  to  the  side  entrance- 
way,  is  an  unusual  and  pleasing  feature. 

84 


RESIDENCE  OF  MRS.  ETHEL  R.  GRAEME 

ENGLEWOOD,  N.  J. 

AYMAR  EMBURY  II,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

The  Orr  cottage  at  Garden  City,  New  York,  is  of  similar 
type  and  materials.  The  separation  of  the  main  living- 
piazza  from  the  entrance-porch  is  often  very  desirable,  so 
visitors  and  messengers  may  arrive  and  depart  without  in- 
terfering with  the  comfort  and  occupations  of  the  house- 
hold. This  house  has  a  third  story,  necessitating  a  somewhat 
higher  treatment  of  the  roof  than  is  employed  in  the  other 
three,  perhaps  to  its  disadvantage.  Hut  the  placing  of  the 
chimneys  at  either  end  is  a  feature  almost  invariable  in  the 
old  work,  and  one  which  seems  a  suitable  termination  to 
the  long  line  of  the  ridge. 

The  house  at  Hound  Brook,  New  |erscv,  is  a  combination 
of  modern  English  with  Dutch  motives,  the  treatment  of 
the  first  story  being  quite  characteristic  of  present-day 
English  work.  A  feature  deserving  of  comment  is  the  ar- 
rangement of  flower-boxes  on  the  same  level,  for  windows  of 
different  heights.  The  symmetry  of  the  design  being  main- 
tained by  little  trellises  back  of  the  flower-box  on  the 
right-hand  side. 

The  Graeme  cottage  is  a  house  of  New  England  Colonial 
shape  translated  into  terms  of  Dutch  architecture.  The 
vise  of  the  stone  gable-ends  with  stucco  front  and    back  is 

86 


THE  J.   C.   BULL  HOUSE 

TUCKAHOE,  N.   Y. 

AYMAR  EMBURY  II,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
characteristically  Dutch,  as  is  the  shape  of  the  roof  with 
chimneys  at  either  end.  The  stone  piers  running  through 
the  piazza  roofs  with  columns  between  are  employed  to 
tie  in  the  piazza  to  the  body  of  the  house  by  repeating  the 
materials  of  the  house.  Too  often  a  light  wood  piax/.a  on 
a  stone  or  brick  building  looks  false  and  unnatural  and 
while  a  treatment  like  this  one  does  not  occur  in  any  of 
the  old  work,  it  is  very  possible  the  Dutch  builders  would 
have  used  it  had  they  happened  to  think  of  it. 

In  the  Bull  house  at  Tuckahoe,  New  York,  the  treatment 
of  the  front  of  the  first  story  with  stone  piers  at  each 
end,  and  columns  and  glass  between,  making  practically  the 
whole  south  side  of  glass,  giyes  admirably  bright  and  cheer- 
ful rooms,  while  the  details  of  the  brick  panels  under  the 
windows  were  the  subject  of  careful  study.  The  use  of 
little  trellises  up  the  sides  of  the  dormer  windows  and 
across  the  top  is  novel,  and  should  make  a  pleasant  frame 
for  the  view  as  seen  from  inside. 

The  Barber  house  is,  like  the  Bound  Brook  house,  a  com- 
bination of  English  with  Dutch  motives,  the  pia/./.a  treat- 
ment being  that  combination  of  pergola  and  covered  porch 
elsewhere  spoken  of  as  being  a    modern    innovation.       The 

88 


HOUSE  FOR  ST.  GEORGE  BARBER 

ENGLEWOOD,  N.  J. 

AYMAR  EMBURY  II,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
cement  piers  at  the  corners  of  the  piazzas  tulhl  the  same 
function  architecturally  as  the  stone  ones  used  on  the 
Graeme  house.  The  oriel  window  at  the  right  of  the  porch 
is  always  a  pleasing  feature  ot  an  interior,  although  here  it 
breaks  up  the  design  of  the  exterior  more  than  is  desirable. 

The  residence  at  Colonia,  New  jersey,  ot  which  Mr. 
Nichols  was  the  architect,  is  only  placed  in  the  Dutch 
chapter  by  straining  a  point.  It  is  one  ot  the  examples  ot 
modern  design  whose  elements  have  been  drawn  trom  so 
many  sources  that  it  is  difficult  to  place  it  under  a  single 
heading  without  tear  ot  successtul  contradiction.  The  main 
roof  is,  however,  Dutch  in  type,  and  while  the  detail  ot  the 
entrance-porch  and  ot  the  cornices  is  Northern  Colonial, 
and  the  treatment  of  the  side-porch  rather  Italian,  the  pic- 
turesqueness  and  the  treedom  ot  the  whole  composition 
suggests  a  Dutch  origin.  The  design  is  exceedingly  com- 
plex, and  had  the  colors  not  been  confined  to  the  simple 
white  for  the  walls,  and  green  tor  the  roots,  it  might  have 
suffered  in  effect. 

An  architect,  however,  is  as  much  responsible  tor  color 
as  tor  proportion,  and  atter  seeing  how  completely  such 
various  elements  are  unified  into  a  single   composition  by 

90 


HOUSE  AT  COLONIA,  N.  J. 
GEORGE  NICHOLS,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

the  use  of  color  in  this  instance,  it  is  readily  perceived  what 
an  important  factor  it  is.  The  daring  experiment  of  using 
two  porches  so  utterly  different  justifies  itself,  and  the 
various  heights  of  the  eaves  are  successful  only  because  of 
the  thought  expended  upon  their  arrangement. 

These  examples  show  how  widely  a  style  may  differ  in 
itself,  and  how  infinite  are  the  designs,  and  the  good  designs, 
which  may  be  evoked  from  a  single  style.  There  is  no 
need  to  emplov  an  entirely  different  type  of  house  from 
that  of  one's  neighbors  to  express  one's  difference  from 
them,  any  more  than  it  is  necessary  to  wear  crinolines  to 
express  one's  individuality  of  taste  in  dress.  Good  taste 
will  conform  one's  house  to  that  of  the  neighbors,  improv- 
ing upon  them,  as  may  be  possible,  but  building  in  harmony 
with  them. 


92 


CHAPTER  V 


SPANISH    OR   MISSION 


WHILE  the  styles  of  architecture  which  seem  to  most 
of  us  peculiarly  American  are  the  various  kinds  of 
Colonial,  there  was  used  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
United  States  even  earlier  than  the  Colonial  styles,  a  style 
almost  unrelated  to  them,  that  we  now  know  under  both 
the  titles  "Spanish"  and  "Mission."  Like  Colonial  archi- 
tecture, it  was  a  far-off  descendant  of  Classic,  through  the 
Renaissance,  but  the  Renaissance  of  a  different  country, — 
Spain  instead  of  England. 

Every  art  passes  through  like  processes  of  evolution.  In 
its  youth  it  is  virile  and  free,  though  often  crude ;  in  its 
maturity  it  is  restrained,  quiet,  dignified ;  and  with  its  de- 
cline comes  a  tendency  to  overload  ornament,  and  trust 
to  decoration  rather  than  to  structure,  for  appearance.  In 
English  architecture  this  period  of  decline  was  halted  by 
the  inquiry  into   Classic  forms   and   their  freshening  influ- 

93 


ONK    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
encc    on    the   decaying   art    of    the    Renaissance.       In    Spain 
and  its  American   Colonies  the  revival   of  Classic  architec- 
ture  had  little  influence,  and   Renaissance  art  became  cor- 
rupted  and   debased    into  the  complicated  and  often    ugly 
forms   of  "Rococo"    and   "  Baroque."       It   is    to    these    last 
stages  of  the  Spanish  Renaissance  that  the  so-called  Mission 
architecture    of   the    United    States    can    be    traced.       But 
under   the   influence   of    the   unusual   conditions   of   a    new 
country,  which   make  any  very  extended   use  of    ornament 
impossible,   and    the    forced    use    of     new    materials,    there- 
resulted  a  certain  freshening  of  the  older  springs  of  design. 
For  these  reasons  the  Spanish  Colonial  architecture  was  in 
main  respects  better  than  that  of  Spain  at  the  same  period. 
Most  of  us  are  familiar  with  the  few  surviving  examples  of 
the   Mission  architecture,  and  none  will  deny  their   charm. 
They  have  become  familiar  through  magazine  illustrations, 
through  visits  of  tourists  to  Florida  and  the  Southwest,  and 
their    reproduction    by    California,    Arizona,    New    Mexico, 
and   Florida,  as  state  buildings  for  the  different  expositions. 
We    Americans    are    a    restless    race,    searching    always    tor 
something  new  in  art,  as  in  construction  and  in  politics,  so 
this   style   after   centuries    of   disuse    became    again    popular 

94 


MR.  H.  O.  HAVEMEYER'S  HOUSE 

BAYBERRY  POINT,  LONG  ISLAND 

GROSVENOR  ATTERBURY,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
under  the  influence  of  the  self-named  "Craftsman"  move- 
ment and  during  the  past  ten  or  twelve  years  many  houses 
have  been  built  along  the  lines  of  this  style,  some  of  which 
have  also  been  influenced  by  the  original  Spanish  work. 
The  architecture  is  a  difficult  one  to  work  with.  Quite 
foreign  to  the  usual  run  of  design,  it  requires  a  peculiarly 
svmpathetic  handling-  and  very  careful  adjustment  to  loca- 
tion of  the  building.  While  examples  are  found  in  the 
Northern  States,  as  well  as  in  the  extreme  Southern,  its  low 
pitched  roofs  and  stucco  walls  seem  out  of  place  when 
thev  are  not  surrounded  with  the  palms  of  the  South.  A 
careful  search  through  many  examples  showed  only  a  few 
worthy  of  the  inclusion  in  this  series  of  American  houses 
of  to-day.  While  there  are  doubtless  others  equally  good, 
they  are  not  among  those  easily  to  be  found. 

Mr.  Havemeyer's  house  at  Bayberry  Point  is  a  very  in- 
genious and  delightful  adaptation  of  the  Mission  architec- 
ture with  a  strong  tincture  of  Moorish  design.  This  is  one 
of  eight  houses  built  on  Bayberry  Point  fronting  the  Sound, 
all  of  which  are  executed  in  the  same  style,  and  all  of  which 
are  of  similar  design.  Such  a  scheme  was  a  wonderful 
opportunity  for  the  architect,  and  Mr.  Atterbury  has  seized 

96 


MR.  MACKENZIE'S  RESIDENCE 

OYSTER  BAY,  LONG  ISLAND 

G.  C.  MACKENZIE,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRKD   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

it  and  worked  it  out  in  its  completeness  with  all  the  suc- 
cess that  might  be  expected  of  this  pastmaster  of  country- 
house  architecture.  The  tremendous  scale  of  the  detail 
and  the  large  expanse  of  rough  concrete  give  power  and 
strength  to  the  design,  while  it  is  picturesque  to  the  highest 
degree.  The  manner  in  which  the  pergola  terminates  a 
walk  from  the  front  door,  and  is  flanked  on  one  side  by  a 
boat-house  and  on  the  other  by  a  summer-house  overlook- 
ing the  water, gives  a  beautiful  opportunity  for  out-of-door 
life,  and  one  can  easily  imagine  the  view  and  air  obtainable 
from  the  third-story  gallery. 

Mr.  Mackenzie's  residence  at  Oyster  Bay  is  along  similar 
lines,  but  exhibits  a  certain  amount  of  influence  from  Spain 
direct.  There  are  many  things  about  this  simple  house 
that  are  well  worth  notice  and  imitation.  The  railings  of 
tiles  are  both  curious  and  unusual,  the  way  they  are  used 
is  an  excellent  method  of  securing  a  masonry  railing  at  a 
minimum  of  expense  and  a  maximum  of  effect,  while  the 
iron  balconies  are  precisely  what  are  needed  both  in  size 
and  m  scale.  The  corbels  supporting  the  brackets  under 
the  cornice  are  of  brick  and  add  a  pleasing  touch  of  color 
to  the  wall  surface,  while  the  method  of  laying  the  roof  tiles 

98 


THE  REIDERMEISTER  HOUSE 

ENGLEWOOD,  NEW  JERSEY 

WILLIAM   K.  BENEDICT,  ARCHITECT 


ONE   HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

gives  a  color  to  the  roof  that  is  exceedingly  happy.  At 
either  end  of  the  building  are  roofless  piazzas,  or  pergolas 
(if  a  feature  of  this  kind  can  be  called  a  pergola),  with 
canvas  loosely  stretched  for  covering.  An  architect's  house 
usually  possesses  some  features  of  interest  beyond  the  ordi- 
nary house.  The  architect  can  do  for  himself  what  he  dare 
not  attempt  with  his  clients. 

The  Reidermeister  house  is  much  like  the  MacKenzie 
residence  with  the  difference  that  the  window  trim,  copings, 
gables,  and  other  details  are  dark  instead  of  light.  The  com- 
position is  an  interesting  one,  with  the  two  unequal  gables 
against  the  main  body  of  the  house.  Shrubbery  oyer  the  wall  in 
the  foreground  will  greatly  improve  the  general  appearance. 

The  residence  of  E.  S.  Hall  at  Water  Witch  reverts  to 
the  original  Spanish  type,  but  with  the  detail  subdued  and 
kept  in  good  taste,  while  quite  in  accord  with  the  general 
design.  The  setting  is  excellent  and  doubtless  adds  to  the 
attractiveness  of  the  place,  but  even  without  this  setting 
the  house  would  not  lose  its  good  qualities. 

The  house  at  Cedarhurst,  Long  Island,  is  again  of  the 
Spanish  character  with  tendencies  toward  Italian.  It 
resembles  rather  the  architecture  of  the  island  of    Majorca 

i  oo 


RESIDENCE  OF  E.  S.  HALL 
WATER  WITCH,  NEW  JERSEY 
LYMAN  A.  FORD,  ARCHITECT 


ONE   HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

than  cither  the  Spanish  Colonial  or  that  of  Spain  itself,  and 
is  a  simple,  quiet,  and  expressive  piece  of  design.  Many 
imsvm metrical  country  houses  appear  casual,  and  while  this 
does  not  detract  from  their  interest,  when  placed  beside  a 
design  so  sober  and  thoughtful  as  this  they  lose  in  value. 
The  most  remarkable  feature  of  this  house  is  the  employ- 
ment of  color  in  the  frieze  between  the  third-story  windows 
and  in  the  lunettes  above  the  second-story  windows.  The 
architect  felt  the  need  of  some  colored  band  to  reduce  the 
apparent  height  of  the  building,  and  to  decorate  what 
would  otherwise  have  been  a  very  plain  surface.  This  was 
effected  by  mixing  earth  colors,  ocher  and  sienna,  in  the 
cement  of  the  final  coat.  How  excellent  was  the  resulting  ap- 
pearance can  only  partially  be  seen  in  the  photograph  where 
the  pattern  is  visible  but  not  the  color.  Its  durability  was 
tested  within  a  few  hours  after  the  laying  of  the  cement  by 
a  heavy  rain-storm  without  any  damage.  This  is  a  very 
inexpensive  form  of  decoration  which  Mr.  Boynton  only 
has  used,  and  deserves  great  attention,  for  it  is  by  employ- 
ment of  such  features  as  this,  cheap  in  themselves,  with 
great  lasting  qualities,  and  splendid  decorative  effect,  that 
small  American  houses  can  Ik-  made  beautiful. 

i  02 


RESIDENCE  AT 

CEDARHURST,  LONG  ISLAND 

LOUIS  BOYNTON,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
The  Taylor  residence  is  in  many  respects  the  most  suit- 
able adaptation  to  northern  conditions  of  Spanish  architec- 
ture that  has  been  done  in  the  neighborhood  of  New  York- 
While  Mr.  Atterbury's  Havemeyer  houses  were  built  ot 
stucco  of  a  gray  color,  quite  in  harmony  with  the  beaches 
and  general  barren  conditions  of  the  sea-shore,  Mr.  Taylor's 
house  is  built  of  rough  stone  with  a  tile  roof  to  blend  with 
the  material  surroundings.  The  situation  of  this  house  is 
excellent,  set  as  it  is  on  a  bench  of  the  slope  of  a  rocky 
hill.  The  house  is  exceedingly  vigorous  in  character,  but 
without  losing  the  refinement  essential  to  the  best  results, 
and  has  many  details  which  are  of  uncommon  interest.  The 
balconies  of  the  second  story  afford  a  delightful  view,  while 
the  arrangement  of  piazzas  and  terraces  seems  ideal.  The 
treatment  of  the  railing  and  the  chimney-caps  are  both  ex- 
ceedingly interesting.  The  problem  was  a  difficult  one  in 
this  house,  since  it  had  to  be  long  and  narrow,  both  be- 
cause of  the  slope  of  the  ground  and  so  that  all  the  rooms 
might  obtain  thorough  ventilation.  Every  color  used  was 
one  which  was  in  harmony  with  the  natural  ones,  with  the 
result  that  this  style,  quite  foreign  to  Connecticut,  is  most 
happy  in  combination  with  its  surroundings. 

i  04 


■■m 


RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  TAYLOR 

NORFOLK,  CONNECTICUT 

TAYLOR  AND   LEVI,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
Some  idea  of  what  has  been  done  along  Spanish  lines 
mav  be  gathered  from  the  foregoing  examples;  and  a  fair 
summing  up  of  them  would  show  that  while  beautiful  as 
they  are  and  skilful  as  is  their  handling,  they  are  more  suited 
to  warm  climates  than  to  the  Northern  States,  not  only  from 
a  practical  but  from  a  sentimental  viewpoint. 


106 


CHAPTER   VI 

AMERICAN    FARM-HOUSE 

BECAUSE  of  the  rough  conditions  which  prevailed  in 
the  newlv  settled  regions,  and  the  crudity  of  the  im- 
plements to  be  found  in  districts  remote  from  the  closely 
settled  portions  of  the  country,  there  was  developed  in 
Colonial  days  an  architecture  distinct  from  the  recognized 
Colonial  tvpe.  In  the  "back  settlements"  and  on  the  fron- 
tier the  type  persisted  for  a  long  time,  until  with  modern 
processes  of  manufacture  and  transportation,  galvanized 
iron  and  canvas  took  the  place  of  the  materials  wrought 
out  bv  hand  in  older  days.  There  was  very  little  of  what 
schoolmen  would  call  architecture  to  be  seen  in  these 
buildings.  Thev  were  simplv  built  as  rapidly  and  cheaply 
as  possible  to  house  the  settlers  until  more  finished  struc- 
tures could  be  built,  and  were  only  a  step  in  advance  of 
the  log  cabin  and  the  sod  hut.  While  most  of  them  were 
totally  lacking  in  an  element  of  design  derived  from  older 

I07 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

sources,  many  of  them  possessed  an  unsophisticated  charm 
of  proportion  and  material  which  commends  itself  to  minds 
tired  of  the  city  and  every  reminder  of  it.  Picturesque- 
ness  is  their  dominant  quality.  They  are  rarely  dignified, 
never  formal,  but  possess  the  same  charm  that  rough  camp- 
ing life  in  the  woods  has  tor  the  dweller  in  the  city. 
Native  to  no  particular  locality,  they  vary  little  from 
Maine  to  Elorida  and,  whether  one  hundred  and  hftv  or 
only  fifty  years  old,  have  served  to  inspire  much  of  the 
pleasantest  of  the  country  work  of  the  present  generation. 
They  are  familiar  to  us  all.  While  the  Colonial  type  was 
of  the  yillages,  these  were  of  the  open  country,  the  homes 
of  farmers  and  fishermen. 

It  was  to  them  that  American  country  architects  looked 
for  inspiration  when,  some  thirty  years  ago,  the  art  of 
country-house  design  began  to  be  reyived.  In  the  new 
work  the  original  lines  were  almost  lost  under  a  maze  of 
jig-saw  work  and  elaborate  turning,  but  the  basis  was  the 
farm-house  type.  Of  late  they  have  not  been  so  often 
copied.  So  much  of  the  hirst  work  done  with  them  as  a 
motive  was  so  bad  that  designers  fought  shy  of  the  style. 
Now, when  the  "back  to  Nature"  and  "The  Simple  Life"  ideas 

108 


COTTAGE  FOR  MISS  MARIA  GREY 

FOX   POINT,  WISCONSIN 

MYRON  HUNT  &  ELMER  GREY,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRKD   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
have   much  force,  interest   in   them   has   naturally  been   re- 
vived  and  they  arc  gradually  coming  to   their  own  as  one 
of  the  great  sources  of  modern  design. 

The  residence  of  Miss  Grey  at  Fox  Point,  Wisconsin,  is 
very  close  in  its  simplicitv  of  design  and  color  to  those 
plain,  almost  crude,  tarm-houses  of  the  poorer  class  of  set- 
tlers. Like  many  of  the  old  examples  it  is  built  around  a 
central  chimney.  The  use  of  a  single  central  chimney  in 
old  times  was,  of  course,  common,  because  the  chimnev 
was  the  most  difficult  thing  in  the  house  to  construct,  and 
the  joint  between  the  roof  and  the  chimney  gave  most 
trouble  to  a  generation  too  poor  to  buy  lead  or  copper, 
and  to  whom  tin  was  almost  unknown.  The  rough  stone 
terrace  wall  across  the  front  of  Miss  Grey's  house  is  another 
reminder  of  the  time  when,  to  clear  the  fields  of  stones, 
the  farmers  built  their  walls  of  them.  The  same  careful 
touch  is  observable  in  every  part  of  the  design,  resulting 
in  an  almost  perfect  preservation  of  the  old  spirit  of  sim- 
plicity. 

The  residence  at  Bryn  Mawr  Park  is  quite  similar  in 
character,  but  with  certain  additional  features  which  have 
been   introduced    to   the   type   through  its  use   in  sea-shore 

i  i  o 


MR.  JONES'  COTTA 

BRYN  MAWR  PARK,  NEW  YO 

SULLIVAN  W.  JONES,  ARCHITE 


ONE   HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

cottages.  The  piazza  under  a  portion  of  the  main  room 
is  one  of  these,  as  is  the  use  of  casement-windows  through- 
out, and  the  rough  stone  chimney.  A  semi-bungalow,  like 
tins  cottage,  is  gradually  becoming  the  accepted  way  of 
building  mountain  and  sea-shore  houses  tor  summer  occu- 
pancy, and  the  farm-house  is  the  logical  and  fitting  style 
to  use. 

The  Bendin  Rode  cottage  is  of  the  same  character,  the 
lower  story  and  chimnev  being  of  stone,  and  the  upper  story 
of  shingles.  This  house  is  probably  the  best  suited  to  its 
position  of  any  illustrated  in  the  book.  It  follows  exactly 
the  crest  of  the  little  hill  on  which  it  is  set,  and  is  arranged 
so  as  to  secure  the  shade  of  the  trees  at  the  proper  places. 
It  seems  fairly  to  grow  out  of  the  ground,  so  perfectly  are- 
its  lines  adjusted  to  its  position.  As  has  elsewhere  been 
pointed  out,  harmony  between  the  site  of  the  house  and 
the  style  employed  is  essential  to  perfect  composition,  and 
this  example  more  than  any  other  brings  out  this  point. 
The  dark  color  of  the  stonework,  the  rough  texture  of  the 
hand-made  shingles,  the  simple  cornice  up  the  gables,  and 
the  use  of  a  gutter  along  the  eaves  instead  of  an  elaborately 
molded    cornice,  all    blend    with    the   informal   and    natural 

I  I  2 


BENDIN  RODE  COTTAGE 

HAYERFORD,  PENNSYLVANIA 

WALTER  SMEDLEY,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

treatment  of  the  surroundings,  while  every  feature  recalls 
the  farm-house  from  which  it  was  derived.  The  shutters 
upon  the  extension  at  the  rear  are  thoroughly  in  keeping 
with  the  remainder  of  the  design,  and  the  pergola  at  the 
end  of  the  extension  blends  so  well  with  the  surroundings 
as  to  make  it  almost  unnoticed  except  upon  close  inspec- 
tion. Formal  garden  there  is  none,  but  gardening  in  the 
sense  oi  development  of  the  surroundings  to  ht  the  house 
is  here  in  its  highest  degree. 

The  Lvgert  house  at  German  town,  Pennsylvania,' is  very 
like  the  Bendin  Rode  cottage  in  the  shape  of  its  masses  but 
the  detail  is  of  a  more  conventional  kind.  This  house  is 
not  built  tar  out  in  the  country,  but  in  a  suburb  of  the  city, 
and  the  materials  are  therefore  of  a  more  properlv  finished 
kind  to  suit  its  location.  Like  many  of  the  old  farm- 
houses, around  which  villages  have  grown,  it  is  placed  very 
close  to  the  street,  a  position  generally  avoided  nowadays 
if  possible,  because  of  the  dust  from  the  road  and  the  pub- 
licity of  the  piazzas.  The  thick  growth  of  vines  along  the 
fence  and  the  small  openings  between  the  pickets  are  here  em- 
ployed to  overcome, as  tar  as  may  be,  these  annoyances, while 
they  improve  at  the  same  time  the  setting  of   the  building. 

i  14, 


THE  LYGERT  HOUSE 

GERMANTOWN,  PENNSYLVANIA 

COPE  AND  STEWARDSON,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
The  Lord  house  is  another  successful  treatment  of  a 
house  set  close  to  the  street.  Here  the  heavy  columns  of 
the  pergola  and  the  high  wall  at  its  termination  shield  the 
occupants  from  the  dust  and  view  from  the  road,  while  they 
give  a  charming  spot  in  which  to  grow  flowers  and  live  out 
of  doors  during  the  summer.  Such  a  treatment  as  this  is, 
of  course,  foreign  to  the  primitive  type,  but  the  simple  lines 
of  the  roof,  the  rough  stonework  of  the  first  story,  and  the 
informal  character  ot  the  building  all  the  way  through  are 
alike  impressed  with  the  farm-house  character.  The  stone- 
work of  the  chimneys  is  of  unusual  charm  as  is  the  treat- 
ment of  the  porch  under  the  overhang  in  front  with  stone 
arches  at  either  end  and  a  tremendous  stucco  column  in 
the  center.  In  many  of  the  details  of  its  handling  this 
house  is  like  the  Woodmere  Land  Company's  office,  illus- 
trated in  the  chapter  on  Dutch  Colonial,  and  exemplifies 
how  with  different  root-motives  a  characteristically  modern 
treatment  can  be  obtained.  The  sturdy  and  solid  treat- 
ment apparent  in  all  Mr.  FCeene's  work,  and  which,  com- 
bined with  the  original  and  playful  fancy  that  has  made  for 
him  his  great  reputation  as  a  designer  of  country  houses,  is 
in   this  house  carried  to  its  furthest  point.       It  is  in  the  e\- 

i  16 


F.  P.  LORD  HOUSE 

EDGEWORTH,  PENNSYLVANIA 

CHARLES  BARTON  KEEN,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
treme  of  modern  design  as  logically  conceived,  and  is  exe- 
cuted with  a  beauty  and  simple  richness  of  detail  that  is 
neither. bizarre  nor  extravagant,  although  utterly  unlike  the 
conventional  forms.  While  not  the  best  of  Mr.  Keene's 
houses  it  is  perhaps  the  most  interesting  and  fullest  of  sug- 
gestion for  the  lover  of  country-house  work. 

The  Underwood  residence  is  marked  by  many  English 
characteristics.  The  dormer  and  gable  oyer  the  porte- 
cochere  have,  instead  of  cornices,  an  English  "  verge-board, " 
while  the  brackets  under  the  eaves  and  the  square  posts  of 
the  piazza  and  porte-cochere  are  also  English  in  treatment. 
The  main  body  of  the  house  is  carried  over  both  the  piazza 
and  porte-cochere,  as  is  often  done  when  more  sleeping- 
rooms  are  required  than  living-rooms  upon  the  first  floor. 
This  affords  an  easy,  cheap,  and  pleasant  way  of  obtaining 
the  desired  result.  Of  course  for  an  all-year-round  resi- 
dence this  is  not  apt  to  be  satisfactory  because  the  rooms 
over  the  piazzas  are  difficult  to  heat,  but  in  summer  they 
are  the  coolest  ones  in  the  house.  The  color  scheme  is  ex- 
cellent and  well  adapted  to  the  style. 

The  Kates  cottage  at  Wyoming,  New  Jersey,  is  composed 
of  such   various  elements   that   its  inclusion   in   this  chapter 

i  iS 


THE   UNDERWOOD   RESIDENCE 

FOX  POINT,  WISCONSIN 

ELMER  GREY,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

is  on  account  of  its  general  character  rather  than  because 
of  any  specific  likeness  to  type.  The  treatment  of  the 
dormers  might  be  either  English  or  Holland  Dutch,  and 
the  big  bow-window  in  the  front  might  also  be  derived 
from  either  of  these  styles,  vet  the  general  composition  is 
that  of  the  old  time  farm-house.  The  finish  of  the  stone 
walls  at  the  ends  with  a  wide  board  along  the  top  is  one 
sometimes  employed  in  primitive  work,  and  if  not  the  onlv, 
it  is  certainly  one  of  the  verv  few  modern  instances  in 
which  it  has  been  used.  The  treatment  of  the  little  gate 
leading  to  the  road  pierced  through  a  continuation  of  the 
gable-end  on  that  side  is  unusual  in  the  extreme,  and  its 
combination  with  the  brick  terrace  across  the  front,  lead- 
ing to  the  garden,  is  very  charming.  There  are  three  dis- 
tinctly different  types  of  windows  used  on  this  elevation. 
One  of  small  square  panes  in  the  bow-window,  one  of 
diamond  leaded  panes  in  the  dormers,  and  the  other  of 
single  panes  in  the  circular  headed  windows  at  the  left 
of  the  door-way.  It  is  difficult  to  recall  any  other  house 
where  that  has  been  done,  and  though  perhaps  not  a  very 
desirable  thing  to  imitate  it  is  here  very  delightful.  As  in 
the  Bendin   Rode  cottage  the  harmony  between  the  build- 

i  20 


THE  BATES  COTTAGE 

WYOMING,  NEW  JERSEY 

JOY  WHEELER  DOW,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

ing  and  its  surroundings  is  excellent,  and  by  the  liberal  use 
of  vines  and  the  preservation  of  the  trees  close  to  the 
house,  the  architect  has  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  effect 
of  fitness  which  constitutes  the  appeal  of  old  work  to  the 
artistic  eye. 

It  was  mainlvin  their  intimate  fitness  to  their  surround- 
ings that  the  older  farm-houses  are  beautiful,  and  the  suc- 
cess or  lack  of  success  in  present-day  work  depends  very 
largely  upon  the  handling  of  this  element.  The  propor- 
tion must,  of  course,  be  pleasant  and  the  composition  happy, 
but  in  a  style  such  as  this  where  detail  plays  a  small  part, 
it  is  essential  that  the  house  and  its  surroundings  should 
form  a  complete  picture  without  any  intrusive  or  discordant 
element. 


I  2  2 


CHAPTER  VII 


ELIZABETHAN 


ALL  the  houses  illustrated  in  the  chapters  preceding  this 
-*•  ^  one  have  been  derived  from  early  work  in  the  United 
States.  There  are,  however,  many  houses  whose  precedents 
must  be  sought  elsewhere,  and  in  most  instances  these  may 
be  found  in  England.  English  domestic  architecture  is  the 
most  delightful  in  the  world,  and  is  the  only  one  whose 
traditions  have  continued  without  interruption  up  to  the 
present  day.  It  has  varied  during  the  course  of  years,  but 
each  variation  has  been  evolved  slowly  and  naturally  from 
the  preceding  period. 

The  architecture  under  the  Tudor  kings,  such  as  is 
familiar  in  Haddon  Hall,  is  the  earliest  country-house 
architecture  which  has  an  appreciable  influence  on  present- 
dav  designs.  Before  that  time  the  larger  houses  were 
castles,  built  for  defense  and  not  for  comfort.  At  the 
dawn  of  the  Renaissance  the  Tudor  architecture  was  modi- 

*23 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

hed  by  the  Renaissance  impulse  and  became  what  is  now 
called  Elizabethan ;  and  with  the  growing  knowledge  of 
Classic  forms  Elizabethan  was  transmuted  into  Jacobean. 
During  the  time  of  the  civil  wars  there  was  little  or  no 
building  in  England,  but  under  Charles  II  English  build- 
ings became  very  strongly  influenced  by  the  Romans,  owing 
to  the  growth  of  knowledge  of  the  Classic  period  gained 
by  Charles  II  and  his  nobles,  during  their  stay  in  France. 
This  type  of  architecture  was  brought  to  a  fuller  perfection 
under  Queen  Anne,  for  whose  favorite  general,  Marlbor- 
ough, the  famous  palace  "Blenheim"  was  built. 

Under  the  four  Georges  architecture  became  much  more 
refined  in  detail  and  lighter  and  more  delicate  in  every 
way,  and  what  we  now  call  Georgian  architecture  reigned 
supreme.  It  is  from  this  type  that  our  American  Colonial 
architecture  was  derived. 

During  the  nineteenth  century  there  was  a  revival  of 
interest  in  Gothic  forms  which  has  continued  up  to  the 
present  time. 

Now  English  architects  arc  using  both  the  Classic  and 
the  Gothic  styles  and  are  fusing  them  into  one  single  type, 
which,  in    addition    to    its   original  components,  is  strongly 

i  24 


ELIZABETHAN 

influenced  by  the  modern  art  spirit,  which  we  know  best 
under  its  French  title  "Art  Nouveau."  This  deliberate 
combination  of  two  styles  so  strongly  opposed  as  Classic 
and  Gothic  is  something  which  has  never  previously  been 
attempted,  and  the  tact  that  it  is  in  the  highest  degree  suc- 
cessful, is  one  ol  the  strongest  ocular  demonstrations  of  the 
tremendous  art  movement  which  is  now  visible  throughout 
all  the  world.  It  is  true  that  the  Elizabethan  and  Jacobean 
stvles  were  combinations  of  Classic  and  Gothic,  but  they 
were  only  the  preliminary  attempts  of  architects  trained  in 
Gothic  to  design  in  a  Classic  way;  and  the  preliminary 
attempts  of  men,  who,  without  books,  pictures,  or  any  in- 
formation other  than  that  given  orally,  were  groping  in  the 
dark  tor  what  was  to  them  a  new  style.  The  result  would 
be  much  the  same  it  our  dressmakers  should  attempt  to 
imitate  the  French  styles  without  any  knowledge  of  them 
aside  from  what  instruction  their  customers  could  give. 
The  result  unquestionably  would  not  be  French,  but  were 
the  dressmakers  people  of  taste  and  experience,  one  could 
reasonably  expect  charming  and  unusual  patterns.  Such 
was  the  result  in  architecture  under  Elizabeth,  and  there 
was  evolved  a  system  of  building,  largely  of  wood,  which 

I25 


ONE    HUNDRKD   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

was  of  extraordinary  charm  and  has  been  a  continuing  de- 
light to  the  present  day. 

All  styles  of  architecture  are  influenced  to  a  marked 
degree  by  available  materials,  and  as  what  we  know  as  halt- 
timber  construction  was  the  easiest  and  most  common  at 
that  time,  the  term  "  Elizabethan"  has  become  almost  sy- 
nonymous with  half-timber  construction.  It  is  in  that  sense 
here  employed. 

Half-timber  construction  is  the  framing  of  the  building 
in  wood,  generally  of  heavy  oak  beams,  and  the  rilling  in 
of  the  vertical  walls  between  the  beams  with  brick  or  stone, 
which  was  generally  plastered  on  the  exterior,  leaying  the 
outside  of  the  wood  exposed.  Ot  course  construction  in 
this  manner  was  not  limited  to  England;  many  of  the  most 
beautiful  examples  are  found  in  France;  but  our  architects 
are  not  so  apt  to  seek  in  France  for  their  precedents  as  in 
England.  And  so,  tor  purposes  ot  comparison  and  illustra- 
tion, it  has  seemed  desirable  to  group  all  photographs  ot 
half-timber  houses  under  the  generic  title  Elizabethan. 
Real  halt-timber  construction  is  not  as  enduring  as  true 
masonry,  nor  is  it  so  easy  to  repair  as  a  construction  en- 
tirely of  frame:  and  it  is  more  expensive  than  cither.      For 

126 


THE  FINE  RESIDENC 

PRINCETON,   NEW  JERSI 

COPE  AND  STEWARDSON,   ARCHITEC1 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

these  reasons  practically  all  modern  houses  where  the  quaint- 
ness  and  richness  of  the  old  halt-timber  work  is  sought  tor 
are  built  of  frame,  and  the  exterior  plastered  and  covered 
with  thin  strips  of  wood  between  the  panels  ot  plaster.  The 
construction  is  in  a  way  a  sham,  as  the  woodwork  which 
appears  on  the  face  ot  the  building  has  no  relation  to  the 
structure,  but  as  this  construction  is  exceeding  decorative, 
and  as  it  forms  a  durable  and  water-proot  covering  tor  the 
outside  of  the  house,  its  use  is  common  and  growing  in 
favor. 

The  Fine  house  at  Princeton,  New  Jersey,  is  one  ot  the 
best  examples  ot  houses  ot  this  type  in  this  country.  Pho- 
tographs cannot  do  it  justice  because  the  color  scheme  is 
largely  lost.  The  lower  stonework  is  ot  gray,  the  wood- 
work of  greenish-black,  the  plaster  nearly  white,  and  the 
roof  red.  The  house  is  very  close  to  the  Elizabethan  period 
in  its  design,  the  double  gable  on  the  front  being  common 
in  that  period,  and  tor  a  tew  years  later,  while  the  orna- 
mental timber-work  just  above  the  second  floor  line  and 
the  verge-boards  (as  the  overhanging  cornices  on  the 
gable-ends  are  called)  are  both  characteristically  Eliza- 
bethan.      The  oriel  windows  on  the  hrst  floor  are  very  de- 

128 


RESIDENCE  OF  MR.   E.    P.   COE 

ENGLEWOOD,   NEW  JERSEY 

AYMAR  EMBURY  II,   ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

lightful  both  within  and  without,  tar  surpassing  in  effect 
any  octagonal  or  square  bay-window  because  of  the  great 
quantity  of  glass  area.  These  would  form  window-seats  in 
the  rooms  and  windows  of  this,  or  similar  design  could  be 
used  on  almost  any  kind  of  house.  Chimneys,  while  a 
little-noticed  part  of  the  building,  are  yet  very  important 
to  the  general  appearance,  and  these  seem  exactly  right  tor 
the  house  since  they  are  both  archaeologicallv  correct  and 
admirably  well  fitted  in  size  and  shape  to  the  general  pro- 
portion. Chimneys  ought  always  to  be  carefully  studied; 
it  is  not  necessary  to  make  them  very  elaborate,  but  their 
height  and  width  and  thickness  should  always  be  such  as  to 
get  the  proper  relation  between  their  size  and  the  size  of 
the  building.  It  is  unfortunate  that  in  this  reproduction 
the  beautiful  carving  on  the  hood  over  the  front  doorway 
cannot  be  very  well  seen,  nor  is  the  method  of  laying  the 
stone  visible  except  in  the  shadows.  It  has  big  quoins  on 
the  corners,  contrasting  well  with  the  small  stones  and  wide, 
white  joints  of  the  filling  between,  and  is  neither  too  rough 
nor  too  smooth.  Very  rough  stonework  such  as  is  used 
in  "rustic"  houses  is  apt  to  look  as  it  the  wall  had  no 
mortar  in  it  and  was  liable   to  tall   down  at  any  moment; 

130 


F.    M.   NICHOLAS  HOUSE 

UNIONVILLE,  OHIO 

FRANK   B.   MEAD,   ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
on  the  other  hand,  stonework  where  all  the  faces  are  per- 
fectly smooth  and  the  joints  narrow  and  straight  looks  too 
hard  and  sharp,  and  lacks  all  the  interest  of  old  work.  As 
lias  often  been  said  before,  the  charm  of  old  work  lies  in 
the  texture  of  the  wall  surface,  and  much  of  that  charm  can 
be  obtained  by  the  careful  use  of  materials  not  to  imitate 
the  old  work,  but  to  obtain  a  texture  which  is  in  itself 
pleasing. 

In  the  Coe  house  an  attempt  was  made  in  a  similar  way 
to  get  a  texture  in  the  brickwork;  and  in  other  respects 
the  working  out  of  the  details  is  like  that  of  the  Fine  house. 
The  dormer-windows  are  the  only  portions  which  call  for 
especial  comment  and  are  both  good  in  design  and  eminently 
lifted  to  the  house,  although  not  at  all  like  old  Elizabethan 
work. 

The  Nicholas  house  is  almost  entirely  of  half-timber,  a 
form  of  construction  which  even  in  the  most  beautiful  of 
the  English  half-timber  country  houses  is  apt  to  become 
tiresome  because  of  the  glaring  contrast  between  the  light 
and  dark  members.  Half-timber  work  is  best  adapted  for 
use  in  only  a  small  part  of  the  building,  and  a  house  all  of 
half-timber  is  a  pretty  difficult  thing  to  handle;  but  in  the 

132 


BALDWIN  RESIDENCE 

DETROIT,   MICHIGAN 

STRATTON  AND  BALDWIN,   ARCHITECTS 


ONK  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

Nicholas  house  the  ill  effect  of  too  much  half-timber  work 
has  been  to  some  extent  overcome  bv  the  big  chimneys  and 
stone  base,  and  the  great  extent  of  roof  surface,  and  the 
whole  scheme  is  well  executed  and  proportioned  with  many 
bits  of  delightful  detail.  Exceedingly  charming  is  the  car- 
riage entrance  underneath  the  wing  at  the  left,  with  the 
house  carried  entirely  over  it.  The  manner  in  which  the 
sen  ice  wing  is  cut  off  from  the  front  portion  of  the  house 
bv  big  hedges  also  merits  attention,  and  serves  to  strengthen 
the  oft-repeated  statement  that  it  is  largely  upon  the  sur- 
roundings that  the  beauty  of  a  house  depends. 

The  Baldwin  residence  is  a  very  delightful  combination 
of  brick,  cement,  and  half-timber,  half-timber  being  used  in 
the  gable-ends,  and  stair-tower  in  the  corner,  where  a 
lighter  form  of  construction  might  naturallv  be  expected. 
The  blank  brick  wall  on  the  wing  to  the  right  with  the 
mass  of  ivy  over  it  is  an  experiment  which  most  clients 
would  have  refused  to  try,  but  a  large  wall  surface  properly 
treated  can  be  quite  as  charming  as  any  group  of  windows. 
An  architect  should  never  forget  that  the  proper  relation 
between  walls  and  windows  can  be  obtained  in  other  ways 
than  bv  the  symmetrical  placing  of  the  windows,  as  is  made 

•34 


GATE  LODGE  FOR  W.   K.   VANDERB1LT,  JR. 

"DEEPDALE,"   LONG  ISLAND 

JOHN  RUSSELL  POPE,   ARCHITECT 


ONK    HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

evident  in  this  case.  The  house  is  modern  English  of  the 
pronounced  type  that  is  being  used  in  England  to-day;  and 
still  has  a  certain  atmosphere  which  marks  it  as  American. 
To  what  this  is  due  is  impossible  to  point  out,  yet,  while 
thoroughly  "English,"  it  could  not  be  mistaken  for  the  work 
of  English  hands. 

The  gate  lodge  at  Deepdale  is  probably  the  only  house 
of  genuine  half-timber  construction  throughout  that  is  here 
illustrated.  It  is  built  with  a  frame  of  heavy  chestnut 
timbers  filled  in  with  brick  eight  inches  thick  and  plastered 
on  the  bricks.  The  color  scheme  was  very  carefully  studied, 
the  timbering  being  stained  dark  brown,  and  the  stucco 
gray,  warmed  up  a  little  with  yellow  ocher,  while  the  roof 
was  of  red  tile.  The  effort  to  obtain  the  charm  of  old 
work  was  here  made  by  the  use  of  old  roof  tiles,  from  a 
demolished  Moravian  church  in  Pennsylvania,  and  as  may 
be  seen  from  the  photograph  it  was  exceedingly  successful. 
It  is  unfortunate  that  the  photograph  does  not  do  justice 
to  the  timber  brackets  under  the  overhang,  for  they  are 
delightful  pieces  of  carving.  The  chimneys  here,  as  in  some 
of  the  other  cases,  have  been  carefully  studied,  and  the 
combination  of  brick   and   stucco  is   well  worth  imitation. 

136 


SCOTT  RESIDENCE 

PELHAM  MANOR,  NEW  YORK 

LOUIS  METCALFE,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

The  whole  design  is  French  in  treatment  rather  than 
English,  and  shows  how  closely  the  two  styles  were  allied. 

The  Scott  residence  at  Pelham  Manor  has  the  two  wings 
of  cement  and  the  connecting  portion  of  the  second  story 
half-timber,  a  good  motiye  for  a  house,  and  here  excellently 
executed.  The  only  weak  spot  is  the  piazza  in  the  right- 
hand  vying,  where  the  piers  seem  to  be  too  light  to  support 
the  wall  above.  The  whole  color  scheme  is  also  good,  the 
gray  cement  with  the  black  timbering  and  the  white  sash 
harmonizing  very  well,  and  giving  enough  difference  in 
color  without  too  sharp  a  contrast. 

Mr.  Jackson's  residence  at  Cambridge,  Massachusetts,  is 
like  most  of  the  houses  which  architects  build  for  them- 
selves, quite  unusual,  and  is  as  charming  as  it  is  unique. 
Architects  often  are  held  too  much  in  check  by  their 
clients;  were  a  freer  rein  given  to  them,  especially  in  the 
matter  of  exterior,  results  would  be,  on  the  average,  better. 
A  client  inevitably  desires  his  own  personality  expressed  by 
his  house,  and  the  architect  is  unable  to  entirely  eliminate 
his,  and  the  result  is  a  compromise,  often  satisfactory  to 
neither.  This  condition  cannot  be  bettered  except  by  one 
of   them   giving   up  to  the    other,  and   as  a   rule  the    client 

138 


MR.  JACKSON'S  RESIDENCE 

CAMBRIDGE,   MASSACHUSETTS 

ALLEN  W.  JACKSON,   ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

should  select  an  architect  whose  work  appeals  to  him  and 
leave  the  design  entirely  in  his  hands.  Were  this  the  case, 
we  would  have  oftener  a  house  like  this;  in  many  respects 
unusual.  While  the  combination  ot  brick,  halt-timber,  and 
cement  is  often  used,  it  is  seldom  so  happv  as  here.  The 
little  entrance  porch  is  a  feature  which  might  be  copied  to 
advantage  on  a  much  smaller  house  than  the  one  here  illus- 
trated, and  though  the  carriage  gate  at  the  left  of  the 
building  would  probablv  not  commend  itself  to  the  average 
person  who  was  considering  building,  it  forms  an  agreeable 
change  from  the  ordinarv. 

The  Fassett  residence  at  Norfolk,  showing  strongly  the 
influence  ot  the  Art  Nouveau  in  Kngland,  recalls  the  work 
ot  Lutyens,  the  great  English  architect,  and  that  of  his 
followers.  The  treatment  ot  the  stone  piers  running  up 
through  the  two  stories  at  the  sides  of  the  gables  with  the 
projecting  woodwork  between,  supported  on  brick  and 
wood  brackets,  is  unique.  The  wood  brackets  below  the 
second-story  windows  and  the  projecting  beam-ends  in  the 
verge-boards  are  painted  a  dull  red,  which  adds  to  the 
interest  ot  the  house  and  gives  an  unusual  effect.  The 
more  carefully  the  whole  composition  is  studied,  the  more 

140 


THE  FASSETT  RESIDENCE 

NORFOLK,   CONNECTICUT 

TAYLOR  AND  LEVI,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
the  cleverness  ot  the  design  becomes  apparent,  and  while  to 
the   minds  ot  many  it  will  not  make  as  great  an   appeal  as 
more  staid  work,  it  is  brilliant  beyond  most. 

The  little  cottage  at  Lawrence  Park  is  one  ot  those 
simple  English  houses  constantly  becoming  more  general  in 
our  suburban  towns.  While  it  is  bv  no  means  tree  trom 
detects  ot  design,  it  is  so  quaint  and  delighttul  that  these 
may  be  easily  forgiven  it. 

The  Rabbitt  house  is  quite  different  trom  any  other  in 
the  chapter.  Consciously  or  not  its  designer  has  been 
strongly  influenced  by  the  German  Renaissance  halt-timber 
work,  but  has  succeeded  in  eliminating  the  crudity  and 
vulgarity  often  tound  in  that  period.  The  bay-windows 
on  the  second  story  are  clever  beyond  the  ordinary,  and 
the  arrangement  ot  the  hrst-story  openings  below  them, 
while  unsymmetrical,  has  the  quality  ot  balance  which  is 
needed  to  make  a  pertect  design.  The  broad  cornice  re- 
turning across  the  gable-ends  is  unconventional  and  daring, 
and  the  use  of  leaders  to  torm  brackets  is  excellent.  Worth 
noting  is  the  trim  ot  the  tour  grouped  windows  on  the  first 
story  at  the  lett  with  the  Jacobean  type  ot  pilasters  and  the 
breaking   ot    all    the    moldings    around    the    heads    ot    the 

i  42 


COTTAGE  FOR  MRS.   BISLAN] 

LAWRENCE   PARK,  NEW  YOR] 

WILLIAM  A.   BATES,   ARCHITEC 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
pilasters.      This  same  type  of  pilaster  was  employed  both 
in  Germany  and  in    England  during  the  seventeenth  cen- 
tury and   is   now   generally   condemned    bv  architects  who 
have  not  the  skill  to  use  them  as  has  here  been  done. 

The  residence  at  Oyster  Bay,  Long  Island,  is  so  wonder- 
fully charming  in  every  way  that  no  single  viewpoint  serves 
to  bring  out  all  its  delightful  features.  The  photograph 
reproduced  here  was  chosen  because  it  showed  better  than 
any  other  the  mass  of  the  house,  although  much  of  the 
best  of  the  detail  is  hidden.  This  house,  like  the  gate  lodge 
at  Deepdale,  is  of  genuine  half-timber  construction  with 
the  brick  filling  left  unplastered.  The  house  is  in  a  gen- 
eral way  derived  from  big  French  farm-houses,  many  of 
which  were  almost  chateaux,  but  is  so  greatly  modified  bv 
the  introduction  of  modern  elements  that  its  prototype  is 
almost  lost  sight  of.  The  great  strength  in  modern  design 
lies  in  precisely  such  adjustment  of  old  motives  to  suit 
modern  conditions  and  their  combination  with  new  motives 
as  is  here  done.  It  is  unfortunate  that  in  this  photograph 
the  color  of  the  woodwork,  the  brickwork,  and  the  roofs 
is  not  more  clearlv  differentiated.  A  tower  seems  almost 
rnpossiblc  of  successful   introduction  into  the  design    of   a 

144 


THE  RABBITT    HOUSE 

WYOMING,  NEW  JERSEY 

JOY  WHEELER  DOW,   ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

modern  house;  that  it  is  possible,  and  not  only  possible, 
but  under  certain  conditions  the  best  thing  to  do  is  here 
proved;  yet  it  is  onlv  by  the  careful  study  of  the  roof  forms 
and  the  treatment  of  the  corners  with  vertical  lines  that  so 
beautiful  a  result  can  be  obtained.  Any  further  detailed 
critique  is  not  essential;  the  house  itself  is  its  own  best 
exponent. 

Black-and-white  photographs  cannot  properly  show  the 
best  feature  of  the  English  houses, —  their  color.  As  Colo- 
nial work  is  mainly  a  study  in  green  and  white,  sometimes 
with  red  brick,  one  cannot  go  very  far  wrong  in  the  color 
scheme  for  that  style.  When,  however,  it  is  necessary  to 
combine  into  a  harmonious  whole  the  varied  colors  of  the 
materials  used  in  half-timber  work,  the  architect  is  at  liberty 
to  indulge  his  fancy  to  almost  any  degree,  and  upon  his 
color  sense  rests,  to  a  large  extent,  the  success  of  the  design. 
There  is  a  great  chance  for  unusual  and  striking  combina- 
tions such  as  the  red  beam-ends  of  the  Eassett  house,  and 
the  white  leaders  under  the  black  cornice  in  the  Rabbitt 
house.  If  a  man  be  not  careful  he  will  inevitably  ruin  the 
best  of  designs,  while  the  architect  who  treats  his  house  as 
an  artist  does  his  picture,  keeping  in  his  mind  not  only  the 

i  46 


RESIDENCE  AT 

OYSTER  BAY,   LONG  ISLAND 

GROSVENOR  ATTERBURY,   ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
various   colors   of  the   house,  but   the   colors  of  the  back- 
ground  and    the  garden    work  in    the  foreground,  will,  by 
the  use  of  halt-timber,  achieve  a  success  impossible  in  any 
other  style. 


i  4.8 


CHAPTER  VIII 


MODERN   ENGLISH 


I 


N  the  preceding  chapter,  houses  of  English  precedent  in 
which  half-timber  is  used  were  included;  in  this  chap- 
ter the  English  houses  of  cement,  brick,  and  stone  will  be 
taken  up. 

In  England  most  of  the  houses  are  of  masonry,  frame 
houses  being  almost  unknown,  and  the  roots  are  usually  of 
slate  or  flat  tile.  Here  a  large  proportion  ot  the  houses 
are  of  stucco  over  wood  training  and  the  roofs  are  of 
shingle.  This  has  resulted  in  a  loss  of  the  deep-set  win- 
dows of  English  houses,  but  as  long  as  wood  construction 
continues  to  be  cheaper  than  masonry,  it  will  continue  to 
be  employed  for  houses  of  low  and  moderate  cost.  For- 
tunately the  time  is  rapidly  approaching  when  we,  like  the 
English,  will  be  compelled  to  use  wood  only  tor  trim  and 
floors;  when  that  time  comes,  instead  ot  the  frame  build- 
ings   now   used,  we  will,  in    all   our  houses,  have   masonry 

149 


ONE    HUNDRKD   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

construction  and  its  corresponding  advantages  of  deep-set 
windows  and  general  sturdiness  of  appearance. 

It  is  characteristic  oi  English  work  to  emphasize  the 
lines  of  the  walls  rather  than  of  the  roots.  A  wide  over- 
hang is  seldom  employed;  often  the  walls  project  above  the 
roots  forming  parapets,  such  as  were  used  in  medieval  times 
ami  in  English  architecture  alone  have  persisted  to  the 
present  day.  The  root  is  always  subordinated  to  the  wall 
treatment,  and  in  all  those  houses  whose  genesis  can  be 
traced  even  indirectly  to  Gothic  times,  the  cornice  is  either 
entirely  omitted,  or  its  position  is  faintly  indicated  by  a 
string  course  of  small  moldings.  These  peculiarities  arc 
found  alike  in  stone,  brick,  and  plaster  houses,  and  probably 
no  other  style  takes  the  material  into  account  in  the  design 
so  little. 

At  the  same  time  the  use  of  material  is  invariably  care- 
fully studied  by  the  English  architects  in  an  attempt  to 
harmonize  the  colors  throughout  the  design  and  also 
to  enrich  wall  surfaces  by  diaper  patterns  formed  of  the 
materials  themselves.  In  brickwork  this  is  done  by  using 
different  colors;  in  stonework  b\  using  different  kinds  of 
stone  or  by   using  some    stone  with   much   rougher   surfaces 

'.5° 


THE  HOWARD  RESIDENCE 

BROOKLINE,  MASSACHUSETTS 

CHARLES  A.    PLATT,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

than  others,  so  that  the  pattern  is  introduced  by  the  different 
quality  of  the  shadows.  This  treatment  may  be  greatly 
elaborated  and  the  patterns  can  be  infinitely  varied,  and 
some  of  the  most  interesting  of  the  English  work  both  new 
and  old  depends  largely  upon  this  feature. 

The  English  influence  over  American  domestic  architec- 
ture has  been  constantly  growing  in  power,  very  greatly 
to  the  advantage  of  American  work,  and  whether  the  types 
here  copied  are  derived  from  English  work  of  the  present 
time,  or  hark  back  to  some  earlier  "period"  of  English 
architecture,  thev  are  rarely  used  quite  as  an  English  archi- 
tect would  handle  them.  There  is  a  certain  American 
spirit  noticeable  in  all  which  it  seems  impossible  for  an 
architect  in  the  United  States  to  avoid,  no  matter  how 
deeply  he  imbues  himself  in  the  work  of   the  English  past. 

Formality  is  the  least  requisite  quality  of  English  archi- 
tecture, and  in  the  sense  that  dignity  is  formality,  they  lack 
that  quality.  A  charm  impossible  of  definition  takes  its 
place;  quaintness,  homeliness,  and  comfort  are  its  charac- 
teristics, and  in  order  to  be  successful  they  are  inevitably 
picturesque. 

The    Howard    residence  at    Brooklinc,    Massachusetts,  of 

'52 


THE  JACOBEAN   HOUSE 

BROOKLINE,  MASSACHUSETTS 

WILLIAM  WHITNEY  LEWIS,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
which  Mr.  Charles  A.  Piatt  was  the  architect,  is  a  very  simple 
and  sober  example  of  English  work  of  the  modern  type. 
Mr.  Hart  has  done  very  little  work  along  these  lines,  most 
of  his  houses  being  of  Colonial  origin  with  Italian  influ- 
ence, as  has  before  been  said;  but  as  it  to  illustrate  his  ver- 
satility he  has  given  us  in  this  house  a  delightful  example 
of  the  English  type.  Brookline  being,  par  excellence,  a 
Colonial  town,  the  house  is  verv  properly  simplified  so  as 
to  be  in  harmony  with  the  spirit  of  the  place,  and  the  door- 
wax  is  treated  in  a  classic  manner.  The  street  front  is 
composed  with  a  double  gable  in  a  manner  quite  charac- 
teristic of  the  English,  the  gables  being  set  very  close  to- 
gether. It  is  symmetrical  without  being  formal,  and  still 
is  picturesque  enough  to  satisfy  the  most  exacting  enthu- 
siast about  English  work.  No  overhanging  eaves  or  "verge- 
boards"  —  as  the  cornices  up  the  rakes  of  the  gables  are 
called  in  English  work  —  are  employed.  They  are  seldom 
used  in  England  except  on  half-timber  houses, and  are  very 
properly  omitted  from   this  design. 

The  architect  of  the  second  house  illustrated  in  this 
chapter  is  not  known  to  the  writer,  but  the  house  is  also 
at    Brookline.       It   is   proportioned    in    a    similar   manner  to 

■5  + 


RESIDENCE  OF  MRS.   GARLAND 

HAMILTON,   MASSACHUSETTS 

WINSLOW  &  BIGELOW,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRKI)  CX)UNTRY  HOUSES 
the  Howard  residence,  but  instead  of  being  modern  English 
in  type,  is  closely  studied  from  the  Jacobean  work.  The 
decorative  form  of  the  gables  was  very  popular  in  the  time 
of  fames  I,  and  the  use  of  brick  with  stone  coigns,  small 
finials  on  the  tops  of  the  gables  and  the  ornamental  chim- 
ney-pots are  all  characteristic  of  the  time.  While  the 
house  is  by  no  means  so  dignified  or  so  good  in  design  (it 
there  is  any  absolute  standard  of  good  in  architecture)  as 
most  of  the  others  here  illustrated,  yet  it  has  a  certain 
charm  and  quaintness  which  make  it  well  worth  while 
illustrating. 

The  Garland  residence  is  a  splendid  example  of  the  big 
handsome,  manv-windowed  Elizabethan  type  ot  house. 
The  plan  with  the  wings  at  either  end  and  the  shorter  pro- 
jection in  the  center  —in  this  case  reduced  to  a  bay-win- 
dow resembles  the  letter  E,  and  was  formerly  supposed 
to  have  been  adopted  in  honor  of  Queen  Elizabeth. 
Whether  this  is  so  or  not,  it  was  a  favorite  type  ot  plan 
in  Elizabethan  days  and  one  which,  apart  from  any  senti- 
mental reason,  is  an  exceedingly  good  one,  permitting  the 
large  rooms  to  go  on  the  corners  where  they  should  be, 
with   the  other  rooms  between.       judging  from  the  exterior 

.56 


GATE  LODGE  OF  MR.   ERNEST  A.   HAMILL 

LAKE  FOREST,  ILLINOIS 

SPENCER  &  POWERS,   ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   CX)UNTRY    HOUSES 

the  staircase  goes  up  over  the  front  door  to  a  large  land- 
ing lighted  by  a  great  number  or  leaded-glass  panes.  The 
gables  are  like  those  of  the  old  houses  in  the  process  of 
evolution  from  the  true  Gothic  type  to  the  Jacobean  type 
of  gable  shown  in  the  Brookline  house  just  spoken  of.  Both 
in  mass  and  in  detail  this  is  a  very  nearly  perfect  example 
of  the  highest  class  of  English  country  work.  Built  of 
masonry  throughout,  even  to  the  mullions  and  transoms 
between  the  windows,  it  adheres  much  more  closely  to  the 
old  lines  than  is  common  in  present-day  architecture.  It 
is  nevertheless  vigorous,  sturdy,  free  from  any  trace  of  mere 
copying,  and  full  of  the  right  quality  of  pure  design.  The 
dormers,  in  marked  contrast  to  the  highly  ornamented  ones 
of  Colonial  work,  are  as  simple  as  a  dormer  can  possibly 
be,  yet  are  in  perfect  keeping  with  the  rest  of  the  work. 
The  brickwork  is  laid  in  a  rich  pattern  all  the  way  through, 
although  this  is  difficult  to  see  from  the  photograph  because 
of  the  "  efflorescence,"  a  white  stain  on  the  brick,  due  to  the 
salts  in  the  lime  and  the  action  of  the  weather.  This  deco- 
rative treatment  of  the  brickwork  is  one  feature  of  which 
architects  are  taking  more  and  more  thought,  not  only  in 
big  houses  such  as  this,  but  in  the  smallest  type  of  cottages 

158 


THE  BORIE   RESIDENCE 

JENKINTOWN,   PENNSYLVANIA 

WILSON  EYRE,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
where  on.lv  the  chimneys  are  of  briek.  It  is  but  a  little 
more  expensive  than  running  the  bricks  straight,  and  the 
appearance  of  the  house  is  markedly  enhanced  by  this 
feature.  The  gardens  also  are  well  carried  out.  There  are 
no  great  masses  of  bloom,  but  the  treatment  of  the  paths, 
steps,  and  terraces  is  such  as  to  display  to  the  best  advan- 
tage the  beauty  of  the  building.  As  has  often  been  said 
before,  and  cannot  be  too  often  repeated,  a  proper  treat- 
ment of  the  grounds  to  form  a  proper  setting  for  the  house 
is  indispensable  in  all  country  work,  be  it  large  or  small. 

Take  the  little  gate  lodge  of  Mr.  Hamill,  where  the  garden 
is  reduced  to  a  minimum.  There  are  only  simple  flower- 
boxes,  one  group  of  shrubs  in  the  foreground,  and  a  plain 
fence  to  shut  off  a  clothes-yard,  yet  they  are  exactly  what  is 
needed  to  keep  the  lodge  in  sympathy  with  its  surround- 
ings. Without  foliage  the  house  would  probably  look  bald 
and  plain;  as  it  stands  it  is  charming.  While  the  lodge  is 
of  brick,  like  the  two  preceding  examples,  the  bay-window 
is  of  wood,  as  is  proper  in  a  projection  from  the  main  build- 
ing; and  while  derived  from  the  work  of  the  same  period 
as  the  Garland  house,  it  is  much  more  modern  in  treatment. 
A  house  of  this  size  and   of   this  character  would  be  very 

i  60 


THE  RICE  RESIDENCE 

IPSWICH,   MASSACHUSETTS 

WILLIAM   G.   RANTOUL,   ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
little  more  expensive  than  the  cheap  wooden  house  usually 
built,  and  would  be  infinitely  more  unique  and   attractive. 

The  Bone  residence  at  fenkintown,  Pennsylvania,  is  very 
modern  in  type,  and  is  an  exceedingly  interesting  combi- 
nation of  brick  and  stucco — brick  tor  the  first  storv  and 
stucco  above,  with  the  copings  and  chimneys  also  of  brick. 
While  in  general  the  house  is  English,  there  are  certain  de- 
tails suggestive  of  Colonial  work,  especially  a  sort  ot  Ger- 
mantown  hood  in  the  angle.  As  in  several  of  the  other 
cases  noted,  the  brickwork  is  very  interesting,  the  joints 
being  exceedingly  wide  and  pointed  up  with  white  mortar, 
a  combination  which  is  always  pleasing,  and  which  Mr 
E)  re  was  one  of  the  first  ot  our  architects  to  adopt. 

The  Rice  residence,  Ipswich,  Massachusetts,  is  another  ot 
the  very  large  type  of  English  brick  houses,  and  by  the  use 
of  this  style  all  the  homelike  character  ot  a  small  house  is 
preserved  as  would  be  impossible  with  Classic  architecture 
applied  to  a  building  ot  this  size.  The  little  forecourt  at 
the  right  ot  the  picture  is  an  unusual  and  charming  feature 
while  the  extremely  open  treatment  ot  the  one-story  dining- 
room  set  in  the  angle  is  bound  to  be  agreeable  on  the 
interior.    Where  practically  all  ot  one  or  two  sides  ot  a  room 

[62 


THE  C.    P.    FOX   HOUSE 

PENLLYN,   PENNSYLVANIA 

COPE  &  STEWARDSON,   ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

is  of  glass,  the  room  is  apt  to  be  pleasant,  and  although  this 
treatment  is  becoming  less  unusual  than  it  was  a  few  years 
since,  it  has  not  vet  been  widely  enough  adopted.  Single 
windows  giving  much  glass  area  would  appear  to  weaken 
the  wall,  and  even  a  parapet  such  as  is  here  used  would 
seem  to  crush  a  single  window  below;  but  where  it  is 
broken  up  into  three  or  tour  smaller  ones,  and  these  in 
turn  treated  with  small  panes,  a  structural  strength  ot  ap- 
pearance is  produced  which  is  essential  to  proper  design. 
The  treatment  of  the  front  of  the  Bull  house,  shown  in 
a  former  chapter,  is  along  these  lines;  and  it  may  be  inter- 
esting to  compare  the  same  treatment  executed  in  entirely 
different  stvles  in  Mr.  Hull's  small  semi-Colonial  cottage  and 
this  big  important  English  building. 

The  Fox  residence  is  of  the  Tudor  type,  modified  to 
present-day  requirements,  that  is  most  used  in  England  at 
the  present  time,  and  which  is  among  the  most  satisfactory 
styles  to  use.  The  well-known  English  architect  Voysey 
has  done  many  houses  ot  precisely  similar  character,  but 
with  his  window-openings  much  smaller,  reduced,  in  tact, 
to  a  size  which  no  American  owner  would  permit,  largely 
because  of  our  hotter  summers.        This  house  is  built  ot  con- 

.6  + 


RESIDENCE  OF  DR.   DAVID  MAGIE 

PRINCETON,  NEW  JERSEY 

COPE  &  STEWARDSON,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRKI)   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

crete,  the  exterior  in  rough   cast,  and   the   door-opening  at 
the  extreme  right  of  the  picture  is  of  stone. 

The  Magic  house,  by  the  same  architects,  is  similar  in 
character  but  with  the  changes  which  befit  its  construction 
in  different  materials.  The  stonework  is  of  soft  gray,  with 
very  wide  white  joints  giving  a  beautiful  texture  to  the  wall 
surface.  The  wood  piazza  at  the  left  is  especially  worthy 
of  attention  as  it  is  admirably  designed  to  form  a  single 
composition  with  the  house,  a  yery  difficult  thing  to  do 
with  a  piazza  in  English  work,  without  employing  the  same 
material  of  which  the  main  body  of  the  house  is  built.  Of 
special  interest  too  are  the  leaders  with  their  big  copper 
leader-heads.  For  some  reason  the  artistic  treatment  of 
leaders  has  been  neglected  by  most  American  architects, 
although  in  the  older  work  in  this  country  every  little  farm- 
house, no  matter  how  small,  had  its  carefully  designed 
lead  leader-heads  and  leaders.  Nowadays  it  is  the  excep- 
tion rather  than  the  rule  to  hnd  any  attempt  to  use  the 
leaders  as  a  decoration.  They  are  usually  treated  as  a  nec- 
essary evil,  and  not  as  a  feature  which  can,  if  desired,  add 
to,  rather  than  detract  from,  the  design. 

The  VVveth  house  at    Rosemount,  Pennsylvania,  is  by  the 

166 


RESIDENCE  OF  MAXWELL  WYETH 

ROSEMOUNT,   PENNSYLVANIA 

WILSON   EYRE,   ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

same  author  as,  and  similar  in  materials  and  design  to,  the 
Borie  residence.  The  use  of  brick  walls  to  close  in  the 
foreground  and  what  is  probably  a  clothes-yard  at  the  right, 
gives  a  delightful  privacy  which  is  essential  to  the  complete- 
ness of  country  life.  The  mass  of  the  house  is  exceedingly 
varied  and  has  "that  balance  of  composition"  which  is' gen- 
erally produced  only  by  symmetry.  The  house,  although 
playful  in  treatment,  has  quietness,  dignity,  and  real  char- 
acter. 

The  next  two  houses  illustrated,  the  Walker  residence  at 
Glencoe,  Illinois,  and  Mrs.  Bisland's  cottage  at  Lawrence 
Park,  New  York,  are  of  about  the  same  size  and  the  same 
materials,  derived  from  the  same  motives,  and  are  as  far 
apart  in  appearance  as  if  one  had  been  Chinese  and  the 
other  Greek.  The  Walker  house  is  strongly  tinged  with 
the  Chicago  variation  of  Art  Nouveau  in  the  introduction 
of  strong  horizontal  lines.  The  older  English  architecture 
was  an  architecture  of  vertical  lines,  and  it  is  this  change 
that  has  produced  the  difference  in  sentiment. 

The  Bisland  cottage  is  a  derivative  of  the  little  English 
farm-house  which  has  flourished  without  any  marked  vari- 
ation  from    the  time   of    the    Norman    Conquest   until    the 

168 


THE  P.   B.   WALKER  HOUSE 

GLEN  COE,  ILLINOIS 

SPENCER  &  POWERS,   ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
present  day.  The  imitation,  in  shingles,  of  the  thatched 
root,  is  very  clever,  although  possibly  not  a  sincere  or 
straightforward  piece  of  design.  Both  houses  are  of  frame 
construction  with  stucco  on  the  outside,  bringing  the 
window-trim  flush  with  the  outside  wall,  and  no  recessed 
windows  are  possible. 

A  much  less  extreme  treatment  of  the  shingle  roof  with 
softer  lines  is  shown  in  the  next  illustration,  a  cottage  at 
Cedarhurst  by  Louis  Boynton.  In  this  the  roof  is  by  no 
means  so  dominant  a  feature  as  in  the  cottage  at  Lawrence 
Park  and  no  attempt  is  made  to  produce  the  appearance 
of  a  thatched  roof  ;  only  the  softness  of  outline  char- 
acteristic of  thatched  roofs  is  sought  for.  Another  way  of 
softening  the  rigidity  of  outline  is  shown  where  the  longer 
slope  of  the  gables  comes  over  the  piazza,  the  roof  sweep- 
ing out  in  a  broad  curve  to  connect  the  house  more  inti- 
mately with  its  surroundings.  English  of  the  present-dav 
type,  this  house,  while  simple  to  the  extreme,  possesses  all 
the  charm  of  the  much  more  elaborate  houses  before  illus- 
trated. It  is  by  no  means  necessary  that  a  house  should 
be  big  to  be  successful.  Our  large  real-estate  companies 
are  coming  to  realize  this,  and  are  employing  the  cleverest 

170 


&*  * 


-A     - 


COTTAGE   FOR   MRS.    PRESBREY  BISLAND 

LAWRENCE  PARK,  NEW  YORK 

WILDER  &  WHITE,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

men  they  can  find  to  design  their  work,  and  their  success 
is  seen  in  this  house.  The  lattice  around  the  porch-open- 
ings and  the  hood  over  the  front  door  are  the  only  features 
added  for  merely  decorative  purposes;  all  the  rest  is  straight 
structural  work  as  cheap  as  can  he  well  built,  but  the  archi- 
tect, through  the  proportion  of  his  mass,  and  the  careful  ad- 
justment of  the  details  of  the  window-openings,  has  achieved 
a  result  that  could  not  be  bettered  by  any  expenditure. 

These  eleven  houses  illustrate  pretty  well  the  various  pos- 
sibilities of  the  English  type.  They  are  from  all  parts  of 
the  United  States,  and  show  that  the  style  is  by  no  means 
localized  but  that  its  influence  is  wide-spread  and  deep- 
seated.  While  we  are  only  to  a  small  degree  of  English 
blood,  our  laws,  our  customs,  perhaps  even  our  minds,  re- 
flect England  more  than  any  other  country,  and  it  is  there- 
fore only  natural  that  in  architecture  as  well  we  should 
turn  to  England  for  inspiration,  especially  as  it  is  in  England 
that  the  best  domestic  architecture  of  the  world  is  to  be 
found. 


i  72 


A  HOUSE  AT 

CEDARHURST,   LONG  ISLAND 

LOUIS  BOYNTON,   ARCHITECT 


CHAPTER    IX 


ITALIAN 


THK  use  of  the  Italian  motives  in  modern  American 
country  houses  is  entirely  due  to  the  influence  of 
travel  and  education  upon  architects  and  their  clients. 
Italy  has  long  been  a  land  of  dreams  to  art  lovers  the  world 
over,  and  even  the  medieval  architects  working  in  the 
Gothic  period,  owing  no  trace  ot  their  design  to  Roman 
times,  thought  and  wrote  of  Rome  with  a  kind  ot  awe. 
Italy  has  furnished  us,  in  her  villas  and  gardens,  the  com- 
pletest  and  most  beautiful  schemes  lor  lite  in  the  country 
which  have  ever  existed;  and  as  long  as  these  monuments 
ot  Italy,  and  even  the  records  ot  them  endure,  thev  will 
serve  as  inspirations  for  the  dweller  in  the  country. 

For  our  use  they  have  one  fault;  their  great  size  and 
rich  ornamentation  makes  them  difficult  of  reduction  to 
the  more  modest  demands  of  America  to-day.  Formerly 
only   the  very   rich  could    live   far   from    their   occupations; 

I  7  4- 


MR.  BIGELOW'S   RESIDENCE 

READVILLE,  MASS. 

WINSLOW  &  BIGELOW,  ARCHITECTS 


ONK    HUNDRKD   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
now  the  improved  methods  of  transportation  have  made  it 
possible  for  people  of  moderate  means  to  live  in  the  coun- 
try and  still  earn   their  livelihood  in  the  city. 

The  style  is  one  foreign  to  America  and  only  by  certain 
adjustments  of  details  can  it  be  made  to  meet  our  require- 
ments. The  roofs  were  verv  low-pitched,  because  in  the  climate 
of  Italy  snow  is  infrequent  and  no  provision  is  necessary 
against  its  lodgment  on  the  root;  and  the  windows  were  small 
to  keep  the  houses  cool  in  the  same  way  as  a  cellar  is  cool. 

Adaptations  of  the  Italian  styles  built  here  are  necessarily 
widely  different  from  the  originals.  We  require  large 
windows  to  give  a  maximum  of  sun  and  air  in  the  rooms. 
It  is  true  that  by  improyed  methods  oi  roof-building  we 
have  made  flat  roofs  possible;  these,  the  wide  oyerhanging 
eaves,  and  the  general  masses  with  a  certain  proportion  of 
detail,  are  all  that  remain  to  us  of  the  original  Italian.  As 
was  noted  in  discussing  Colonial  work,  the  Italian  buildings 
have  had  a  great  influence  upon  American  in  the  question 
of  detail.  A  good  proportion  of  the  so-called  Colonial 
houses  being  built  to-day  have  had  their  cornices,  columns, 
and  other  decorative  features  copied  very  closely  from  Italian 
work,  and  it   may  be  said,  to  their  lasting  advantage. 

176 


RESIDENCE  OF  SAMUEL  CABOT 

CANTON,  MASS. 

WINSLOW  &  BIGELOW,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

Italian  work  of  the  sixteenth  and  seventeenth  centuries 
in  these  details  was  not  so  very  different  from  the  English 
Georgian,  yet  it  is  never  possible  to  mistake  one  for  the 
other.  The  description  which  fits  an  Italian  might  apply 
equally  well  to  an  Englishman;  but,  without  being  able  to 
point  out  a  single  feature  of  difference,  we  can  unhesita- 
tingly tell  one  from  the  other.  So  it  is  with  Italian  and 
English  work,  and  to  a  lesser  degree  with  modern  Ameri- 
can work  derived  from  those  sources. 

Occasionally,  howrever,  we  hnd  a  house  in  which  the  two 
styles  are  combined.  Such  a  one  is  Mr.  Bigelow's  resi- 
dence at  Readville,  Massachusetts.  It  has  certain  points 
of  resemblance  to  the  house  in  Brookline,  of  which  Charles 
A.  Piatt  was  the  architect,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  espe- 
cially in  its  lack  of  overhanging  eaves — an  English  rather 
than  an  Italian  characteristic.  The  chimneys,  too,  remind 
us  of  England,  but  the  house  in  the  main  is  clearly  Italian. 
The  use  of  the  projecting  gable-ends  balanced  throughout, 
although  entirely  unsymmetrical,  is  an  interesting  feature 
of  the  house,  while  the  fore-court  bounding  the  street  en- 
trance is  excellently  contrived  to  keep  all  vehicles  out  of 
view  except  at  that  point.      This,  though  the  entrance-side, 

178 


THE  WILLIAMS  RESIDENCE 

NAHANT,  MASS. 

PARKER  &  THOMAS,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
is  really  the  rear,  as  the  living-side  of  the  house  is  facing 
the  garden.  The  service  wing  is  at  the  right,  separated 
from  the  fore-court  by  a  high  wall,  thus  hiding  from  \  dew 
the  clothes-yard  and  the  other  objectionable  although 
necessary  features  of  the  service  portion  of  the  house.  This 
arrangement,  which  is  in  many  respects  ideal,  is  growing  in 
favor  as  Americans  realize  that  family  life  should  be  with- 
drawn from,  rather  than  exposed  to,  the  public,  and  that 
their  houses    are    made  to  live    in    and  not    look  out    from. 

The  Cabot  house,  by  the  same  architect,  is  similar  in 
character  and  beautifully  fitted  to  its  location.  While  the 
main  portion  of  the  house  is  symmetrical,  the  service  wing 
is  not  in  any  way  recalled  upon  the  opposite  end,  and  so 
well  is  it  treated  that  no  need  for  symmetry  is  felt.  As 
the  country,  to  judge  from  the  photograph,  is  one  in  which 
beautiful  views  may  be  obtained,  one  room  is  located  high 
above  the  others  and  this  higher  portion,  so  treated  that 
it  does  not  dwarf  the  main  body  of  the  house,  is  a  very 
remarkable  piece  of  design.  It  woidd  be  easy  to  erect  a 
tower  were  the  design  informal,  but  where  the  style  is  that 
here  employed,  the  problem  is  one  of  utmost  difficulty. 

The  Williams  residence  at    Nahant  is  an  excellent   piece 

180 


! 


RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  HERING 

PELHAM   MANOR,  N.  Y. 

OSWALD  C.  HERING,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRKI)  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
of  design,  showing  what  has  grown  to  be  practically  the 
tvpical  American  use  of  Italian  work.  The  overhangs  are 
broad  with  exposed  beams  supporting  them,  there  are  plenty 
of  large  windows  tor  sun  and  air,  and  the  roof  is  of  the  low- 
pitched  type  with  the  slope  changed  at  the  eaves.  Where 
no  third  story  is  required  for  Hying  purposes,  this  kind  of 
house  possesses  all  the  good  qualities  of  the  Colonial  type, 
permitting  large  square  rooms,  high  ceilings,  and  ample 
ventilation.  The  service  quarters  are  of  course  placed  in 
the  wing  over  the  kitchen,  an  arrangement  which,  though 
not  so  economical  as  the  use  of  the  third  story,  is  more 
desirable.  The  trellis  at  the  extreme  right,  hiding  the  ser- 
vice portion  with  the  little  hood  over  the  gate,  is  a  very 
charming  bit  of  design  and  is  one  of  those  manifestations 
of  increased  care  and  thought  in  regard  to  details  that  is 
one  of  the  strongest  things  in  modern  work.  The  whole 
house  is  one  of  the  best  examples  of  its  kind;  and,  as  has 
been  said,  the  kind  has  of  late  become  very  common. 

Mr.  Herring's  house  at  Pelham  Manor,  New  York,  is  a 
scholarly  and  dignified  adaptation  of  the  Italian  villa  to  a 
modern  country  house,  simple,  refined,  and  elegant,  but 
without  much  of  that  intimate  and  domestic  quality  which 

182 


RESIDENCE  OF  J.  O.  BLOSS 

HARRISON,  NEW   YORK 

ALFRED   BUSSELLE,  ARCHITECT 


ONF,    HUNDRKD   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

is  after  all  what  should  most  be  sought  for  in  a  dwelling- 
house.  The  mass  of  the  house  is  excellent,  the  central 
portion  dominating  the  wings  to  exactly  the  proper  extent; 
the  proportion  of  window-openings  to  wall-space  is  admir- 
able, while  the  doorway,  without  being  aggressive,  is 
sufficiently  emphasized  and  well  detailed.  The  only  feature 
which  one  could  regret  is  the  stone  wall  across  the  front, 
which  apparently  does  not  extend  to  the  limits  of  the  plot 
on  which  the  house  is  set,  and  is  in  consequence  somewhat 
meaningless.  It  only  serves  as  a  retaining-wall  for  the 
terrace  in  front  of  the  central  portion,  but  when  vines  and 
shrubbery  are  over  it,  will  unquestionably  lose  much  of  this 
unfortunate  appearance. 

The  Hloss  residence  at  Harrison,  New  York,  is  simple  in 
mass  and  refined  in  detail.  As  in  Mr.  Herring's  house  the 
rough  stone  wall  at  the  present  time  is  somewhat  objec- 
tionable, but  will  lose  this  appearance  when  the  planting 
is  completed.  Here  the  third  story  is  utilized,  and  the 
dormers  are  designed  with  much  success  to  harmonize  with 
a  style  in  which  dormers  were  unknown.  The  circular- 
headed  windows  in  the  second  story  placed  in  pairs  above 
single  windows  at  each  side,  and  a  bay-window  in  the  center 

[84 


RESIDENCE  OF  A.   DURANT  SNEDEN 

AVON-BY-THE-SEA,  NEW   JERSEY 

A.  DURANT  SNEDEN,  ARCHITECT 


ONE   HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
on  the  first  story  form   an   admirable   composition,  all   tied 
together  bv  the  dark    leaders    at   either   end.      The   use   of 
the  porches  to   carry  out   the  long  lines   of   the  house,  is  as 
good  as  is  their  design. 

Somewhat  similar  in  type  is  Mr.  Sneden's  residence,  but 
of  a  larger  and  more  formal  character.  The  manner  in 
which  the  central  mass  is  recessed  between  the  wings  and 
finished  with  a  terrace  in  front  is  excellent.  The  railing 
and  flower-boxes  at  the  outside  of  this  terrace  cannot  be 
too  highly  commended  and  the  use  of  dark  wood  brackets 
to  support  the  roof  is  interesting;  vet  delightful  though  the 
house  is,  one  cannot  but  think  that  it  is  exotic  upon  the 
New  Jersey  coast. 

In  looking  at  Casa  del  Ponte,  however,  another  Italian 
house  upon  the  sea-shore,  there  is  no  feeling  of  that  kind, 
probably  because  the  house  is  absolutely  unsymmetrical  and 
is  much  more  intimately  connected  with  its  surroundings. 
It  is  exceedingly  small,  so  small  indeed  that  off-hand  one 
would  say  it  would  be  impossible  to  successfully  execute 
a  house  of  its  size  along  Italian  lines.  And  one  would  be 
mistaken.  There  is  no  single  portion  of  this  little  and  in- 
expensive house  without  its  feature  of  interest.     Simply  by 

186 


"CASA  DEL  PONTE" 

ROWAYTON,  CONN. 

SLEE  &  BRYSON,   ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

the  clever  grouping  of  windows,  and  the  delightful  placing 
of  the  little  bits  of  ornament  it  is  given  a  charm  which  few 
if  any  houses  of  far  greater  cost  possess.  It  is  an  object 
lesson  to  all  those  intending  to  build  a  small  house,  as 
probably  the  entire  outlay  for  the  balusters,  figures,  and 
molded  work  did  not  exceed  three  or  four  hundred  dollars, 
and  while  three  or  four  hundred  dollars  spent  on  a  house 
without  adding  one  penny's  worth  to  its  usefulness  seems 
to  the  average  person  building  money  wasted,  the  owner 
has  been  a  thousand  times  repaid  by  his  pleasure  in  the 
house,  and  even  in  a  commercial  sense  has  been  repaid  by 
its  greatly  enhanced  selling  power. 

The  Carpenter  and  the  Bartlett  houses  located  at  Lake 
Geneya,  Wisconsin,  while  in  the  main  Italian,  show  like  all 
of  Howard  Shaw's  work  much  of  that  modern  spirit  of 
design  which  is  characteristic  of  the  best  work  of  to-day. 
Mr.  Shaw's  vigorous  and  forceful  personality,  apparent  in 
everything  he  touches,  is  nowhere  more  so  than  in  these 
two  houses.  Imagination  is  a  rare  quality;  architecture  is 
to  a  large  degree  copying  and  adaptation,  but  the  cleverest 
of  adaptation  needs  fusion  with  imagination  to  produce 
really  live  design.      We  may  have  sometime  more  beautiful 

i  88 


THE  CARPENTER  HOUSE 

LAKE  GENEVA,  WISCONSIN 

HOWARD  SHAW,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRK1)  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
houses  derived  from  Italian  styles  than  these,  but  whether 
we  will  ever  again  have  anything  at  once  so  yirile  and  so 
fresh,  yet  so  restrained  and  scholarly  as  these,  seems  yery 
doubtful.  It  is  a  tremendous  achievement  tor  one  man  to 
ile-sign  along  strictly  Classic  lines  an  entrance-way  so  pure 
and  so  beautiful  as  that  of  the  Carpenter  house,  and  then 
in  its  next-door  neighbor,  the  Bartlett  house,  to  carry  out 
a  wall  treatment  like  that  on  the  wall  facing  the  pool. 
There  may  be  precedent  for  this  wall  treatment;  if  so,  one- 
may  go  far  to  find  it.  It  seems  an  inspiration  too  exquisite 
for  any  precedent. 

A  description  of  these  two  houses  is  unnecessary.  They 
are  their  own  best  exponents,  absolutely  in  harmony  with 
their  surroundings;  it  seems  as  if  nature  had  conspired  to 
lend  them  added  beauty.  In  mass  as  in  detail  they  are 
near  perfection.  The  windows,  the  arrangement  of  the 
gardens,  the  well-curb,  the  very  pavement  under  foot,  is 
treated  with  loving  attention;  nothing  is  slighted,  nothing 
is  overdone. 

The  Hartlett  house  and  the  little  Casa  del  Ponte  are 
probably  among  the  dozen  most  successful  country  houses 
in  America,  and  both  for  the  same  reason:    there  are  main 

190 


THE  A.  C.  BARTLETT  HOUSE 

LAKE  GENEVA,  WISCONSIN 

HOWARD  SHAW,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

houses  whose  architects  are  as  clever;  some  are  more 
brilliant,  but  there  are  few  who  have  the  patience  so  thor- 
oughly to  design  every  detail.  These  will  rank  high,  not 
alone  because  of  their  beauty,  but  because  while  restrained 
they  are  daring,  and  while  they  acknowledge  precedent 
they  are  not  bound  by  it. 


i  92 


THE  A.  C.  BARTLETT  HOUSE 

LAKE  GENEVA,  WISCONSIN 

HOWARD  SHAW,  ARCHITECT 


CHAPTER   X 


ART   NOUVEAU 


IN  the  preceding  chapters  those  houses  have  been 
described  which  were  evidently  derived  from  some  his- 
torical precedent.  There  remains,  however,  a  great  bodv 
of  work  in  which  the  influence  of  any  older  style  is  almost 
imperceptible,  and  of  these  a  number  of  the  best  examples 
are  here  gathered  together  under  the  heading  "Art 
Nouveau."  This  term  is  far  from  being  an  exact  charac- 
terization; the  style  we  are  using  to-day  has  not  yet  been 
named,  and  will  not  be  named  until  it,  in  its  turn,  has  be- 
come a  matter  of  history. 

The  houses,  then,  shown  in  this  chapter  are  those  in 
which  the  architect  has  been  given  a  free  hand  and  has 
made  little  or  no  attempt  to  follow  precedent.  They  are 
all  very  truly  "new  art"  and  in  its  literal  sense  the  term 
"Art  Nouveau"  applies  to  them  excellentlv  well,  but  as  that 
irenerally   brings   before   the   mind   the   fanciful   and  often- 

194 


"RAGDALE," 

LAKE  FOREST,  ILL. 

HOWARD  SHAW,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
times  meaningless  curves  with  which  the  movement  started, 
the  term  is  not  satisfactory. 

In  England  and  in  this  country  the  Art  Nouveau  move- 
ment has  assumed  a  form  that  differs  from  its  Continental 
development, — a  simpler  form,  and  in  all  respects  better. 
Its  tendency  is  toward  straight  lines  and  plain  shapes,  so 
plain  indeed  that  in  furniture  it  often  recalls  the  Colonial 
work,  and  in  another  manifestation  it  is  like  the  self-styled 
"craftsman"  movement,  although  without  the  affectation 
that  mars  that  work.  It  is  mainly  by  the  great  English 
exponents  of  Art  Nouveau,  Voysey,  Baillie-Sott,  and 
Lutyens,  that  our  modern  work  has  been  influenced;  and 
much  of  it  shows  a  traee  of  English  sentiment,  while  in 
cases  where  the  architects  are  of  German  blood  a  Teutonic 
influence  has  been  developed,  as  is  natural  enough. 

"Ragdale"  at  Lake  Forest,  Illinois,  is  the  home  of  its 
arehiteet,  Mr.  Howard  Shaw.  It  has  the  delightful  freedom 
of  treatment  characteristic  of  many  houses  which  arehitects 
build  for  themselves.  In  working  for  another  man  the 
arehiteet  does  not  dare  to  express  himself  as  fully  as  he- 
would  like,  and  often  it  is  just  as  well,  perhaps,  that  there  is 
some  restraint  put  upon  him.    The  combination  of  a  sensible 

i  96 


THE  HEDGES   RESIDENCE 

BROOKLINE,  MASS. 

LOVELL  LITTLE,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRKD   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

and  artistic  client  with  a  capable  architect  gives  better  re- 
sults than  are  achieved  by  architects  working  alone,  since 
every  house  is  a  series  of  compromises  and  an  architect  often 
attaches  too  much  weight  to  matters  the  reverse  ot  those  on 
which  a  client  would  insist,  with  the  result  that  his  house, 
while  usually  successful  pictorially,  is  apt  to  be  unpractical. 
In  this  case  the  house  is  utterlv  delightful  in  the  exterior 
treatment,  with  the  projecting  second  story  supported  on 
sturdy  beams  over  the  cement  columns. 

One  of  the  most  interesting  things  which  has  lately  been 
developed  is  a  method  of  shingling  roofs  to  produce  the 
softness  of  a  thatched  roof.  Sharp  and  angular  lines  are 
hard  to  disassociate  from  new  buildings,  and  it  is  soft- 
ness of  outline  and  color  which  gives  to  old  work  its 
peculiar  charm.  Many  architects  have  therefore  resorted 
to  all  sorts  of  devices  to  get  the  peculiar  quality  of  old 
work  in  new  houses,  and  of  these,  the  curving  of  the  shingle 
roofs  is  as  helpful  a  one  as  has  yet  been  found. 

In  the  Hedges  residence  at  Brookline,  Massachusetts,  it 
has  not  been  carried  far,  and  vet  has  immensely  aided  in 
relieving  the  stiffness  of  the  design.  The  house  is  quaint 
and    picturesque    with    the    different    lengths    of    the    root 

198 


THE  DUNNING  COTTAGE 

BRIARCLIFF,  N.  Y. 

A.  VAN  BUREN  McGONIGLE,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
slopes,  and  their  projection  over  the  loggias  at  the  eorners. 
The  proportions  are  pleasing  and    the  details,  while   some- 
what meager,  are  well  planned  and  executed. 

The  Dunning  residence  at  Briarcliff,  New  York,  and  the 
cottage  at  Glen  Ridge  were  designed  by  Mr.  McGonigle, 
whose  work  has  been  largely  along  more  important  lines 
than  the  country  house.  These  houses  have  somewhat  the 
English  character,  accentuated  by  the  treatment  of  the 
shingles,  earlier  mentioned,  and  by  the  use  of  trellis-work. 
The  Dunning  house  is  the  simpler  of  the  two,  being  almost 
symmetrical,  where  the  other  is  entirely  picturesque.  Mr. 
McGonigle  was  the  first  architect  in  the  East,  perhaps  in 
this  country,  to  attempt  the  shingling  of  roofs  to  produce 
the  effect  of  thatch,  and  his  design  in  this  direction  has 
never  been  surpassed,  although  other  architects  have  carried 
the  curved  treatment  much  further  than  he  has  done.  The 
interest  in  this  type  of  roof  lies,  not  alone  in  the  curving 
at  the  ends  of  the  shingles,  but  also  in  the  manner  of  lay- 
ing them  very  irregularly,  and  without  the  stiff  horizontal 
lines  to  which  we  have  grown  accustomed  and  which 
necessarily  result  from  the  ordinary  method  of  laying  shingles. 
The  garden  in  the  Glen   Ridge  house  is  delightful,  and  the 

200 


A  HOUSE  AT 

GLEN  RIDGE,  NEW  JERSEY 

A.  VAN  BUREN  McGONIGLE,  ARCHITECT 


ONE   HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
treatment  of  the  clothes-yard   trellis  at  the  left  especially 

demands  attention.  Every  detail  has  been  thought  out: 
the  seat  on  the  loggia,  the  leaders,  and  leader-heads,  and 
the  very  shapes  of  the  window-sash  are  kept  in  harmony 
with  the  general  form  of  the  building. 

The  residence  of  Carleton  Macy,  at  Woodmere,  Long 
Island,  has  been  one  of  the  most  admired  of  the  past  tew 
years.  In  it  the  shingle  treatment  has  been  carried  further 
than  has  ever  before  been  attempted,  with  unique  and 
satisfactory  results.  The  house  is  thoroughly  modern  in 
every  respeet,  for  the  columns,  while  Greek  in  detail,  are 
so  unusual  in  their  handling  that  they  may  fairly  be  called 
modern  design.  The  roof-lines  are  symmetrical,  and  the 
chimnevs  are  placed  at  either  end  of  the  main  ridge,  where 
the  need  for  some  emphasis  is  always  felt.  The  windows 
are  quite  simply  handled  in  a  manner  suggestive  of  Colonial, 
and  the  shutters  are  solid  below  with  louvers  above.  The 
setting  is  such  as  to  show  the  house  to  its  best  advantage, 
and  was  very  carefully  thought  out  by  the  architects.  The 
house  is  one  which  has  brought  much  and  well-deserved 
reputation  to  its  authors,  tor  its  brilliancy  is  the  result  of 
virile  and  thoughtful  design. 


202 


RESIDENCE  OF  CARLETON  MACY 

WOODMERE,  LONG  ISLAND 

ALBRO  &  LINDEBERG,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

The  entrance  to  the  Club  House  at  Kensington,  Illinois, 
should  not  properly  be  included  in  a  book  of  this  character, 
but  is  too  remarkable  a  piece  ot  design  to  be  omitted. 
Certain  portions  are  like  the  European  variety  of  Art 
Xouvcau,  and  with  strong  Cerman  tendencies.  The  ar- 
rangement of  the  pergola,  leaving  the  tree  in  place,  is  im- 
mensely  interesting,  and  exhibits  a  satisfactory  solution  of 
a  problem  which  has  troubled  many  who  have  desired  to 
preserve  beautiful  trees  which  come  in  too  close  proximity 
to  the  house.  The  treatment  of  the  beams  is  perhaps  the 
most  interesting  thing  about  the  whole  composition.  This 
is  largely  due  to  the  contrast  between  their  heavy  and 
simple  lines  and  the  delicate  handling  of  the  leaded  glass 
in  the  lamps  and  windows.  The  whole  scheme  suggests 
the  Japanese,  as  does  much  of  the  best  of  modern  work  in 
which  an  effort  has  been  made  to  preserve  a  simple  and 
expressive  handling  of  materials.  The  brickwork  on  the 
steps  and  floors  harmonizes  with  the  stucco  and  the  rough 
woodwork,  while  the  pedestals  for  the  flower-boxes  are 
truly  delightful. 

The  Lackner  and  Rubens  residences  are  Art  Nouveau 
to  the  last  degree  and  full  of  interesting  and  suggestive  tca- 

204 


ENTRANCE  TO  THE  CLUB  HOUSE 

KENSINGTON,  ILL. 

GEORGE  W.  MAHER,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRKD   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

tures  tor  a  student  of  modern  architecture.      As  can  readily 

be  seen,  the  architect  was  the  same  as  that  of  the  Kensington 
Club  House,  and  his  German  blood  is  here  again  plainly 
perceptible.  The  Lackner  residence  is  of  brick  and  stucco 
with  a  simply  designed  pergola  carried  on  brick  piers  and 
stucco  columns.  A  pergola  treatment  of  the  porches  like- 
that  here  shown  gives  a  combination  of  light  and  shade 
such  as  no  covered  porch  can  ever  do,  and,  when  it  becomes 
thoroughly  covered  with  vines,  affords  ample  protection 
from  the  sun,  with  greater  coolness  than  is  possible  with 
the  usual  type.  The  shape  of  the  roof  is  a  very  curious 
one,  perhaps  derived  from  the  Dutch  farm-house  style,  but 
far  removed  therefrom.  The  leaded  glass  adds  immensely 
to  the  appearance  of  the  exterior  by  introducing  many 
small  motives  to  relieve  the  big  scale  of  the  other  detail. 
The  manner  in  which  the  stucco  work  is  carried  up  under 
the  top  of  the  gable  in  a  sort  of  cove  is  interesting,  and 
this  house  is  one  of  the  few  in  which  the  leaders  and  leader- 
heads  have  been  thought  of  and  provided  for  in  an  unusual 
and  delightful  way. 

The   Rubens  house  is   one  which   staggers    criticism.       It 
is  of  a  style  which  the  Germans  are  using  to-day,  the  com- 

206 


RESIDENCE  OF   FRANCIS  LACKNER 

KENILWORTH,  ILL. 

GEORGE  W.  MAHER,  ARCHITECT 


ONK  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
bination  repeated  throughout  the  design  of  columns  be- 
tween brick  walls  is  characteristically  German,  as  is  to  a 
great  extent  the  whole  treatment  of  the  building.  Any  one 
who  desires  their  architecture  undiluted  by  the  personality 
of  the  architect,  will  pronounce  this  house  bad  beyond  re- 
demption, but  to  those  who  see  the  brilliancy  and  daring 
of  its  author,  it  will  be  full  of  interest.  It  is  so  different, 
so  unusual,  that  a  proper  viewpoint  from  which  to  judge  it 
is  impossible  to  rind,  and  whether  the  immense  cleverness 
displayed  in  its  design  is  sufficient  to  atone  tor  its  disregard 
of  the  most  elementary  consideration  of  both  form  and 
scale,  is  something  which  time  alone  can  tell. 

The  Eastwood  house  at  Rochester  is  another  example 
of  the  use  of  German  motives,  and  a  very  picturesque  and 
charming  one.  The  entrance-porch  with  the  hoods  cutting 
across  the  arches  is  most  entertaining,  and  one  which,  while 
absolutely  novel,  has  much  spirit.  It  is  impossible  to  fairly 
consider  houses  which  are  so  far  from  the  ordinary  as  this. 
Beauty  lies  so  largely  in  the  eye  of  the  beholder  that  one 
cannot  be  certain  whether  one  is  seeing  a  piece  of  great 
and  lasting  design  or  the  caprice  ot  an  unrestrained  fancy. 
Mr.  Bragdon  is  an  iconoclast  first,  last,  and  always,  but  the 

208 


RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  HARRY  RUBENS 

GLENCOE,  ILL. 

GEORGE  W.  MAHER,  ARCHITECT 


ONE   HUNDRKD   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

idols  he  breaks  arc  those  of  false  convention  and  improper 
tradition,  and  unlike  most  iconoclasts  he  is  constructive  as 
well,  setting  up  before  us  new  and  delightful  forms  to  take 
the  place  of  the  old. 

The  Tietig  house  at  Cincinnati,  Ohio,  is  derived  from 
one  of  the  designs  of  the  Knglish  architect  Lutyens,  but  so 
greatly  revised  and  modified  to  suit  its  location  and  the 
temperament  of  its  owner  that  it  is  only  upon  closest  in- 
spection that  we  perceive  its  genesis.  The  double  gable 
at  the  end  is  always  difficult  to  handle,  and  is  here  un- 
usually well  done.  The  chimneys  are  well  placed  and  the 
combination  of  color  is  a  good  one.  The  simple  pilasters 
running  up  between  the  prominent  portions  of  the  front 
are  excellent  while  unconventional  in  the  extreme,  and  the 
arrangement  of  the  window-panes  to  continue  the  same 
vertical  sentiment  visible  everywhere  throughout  the  house 
is  well  done.  It  does  not  often  happen  that  this  matter  of 
shape  and  spacing  of  the  window-panes  is  thought  of. to  be 
entirely  in  harmony  with  the  general  character  of  the  de- 
sign, and  were  it  done  more  often  better  results  would  be 
achieved.  Of  equal  merit  are  the  leader-heads  ami  leaders, 
the  latter  placed  so  as  to  form  the  groups  of  four  windows 

2  1  O 


HOUSE  OF  A.  B.  EASTWOOD 

ROCHESTER,  NEW  YORK 

CLAUDE  BRAGDON,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRKD  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

on  the  front,  while  the  leader-heads  make  a  dark  spot  of 
excellent  outline  opposite  the  tops  of  the  windows. 

As  may  be  seen  from  these  houses,  the  term  "Art 
Nouveau"  can  be  stretched  to  include  widely  different 
examples  of  heterogeneous  types.  They  are  not  of  equal 
merit,  either  per  se  or  as  steps  in  the  evolution  of  the 
great  art  which  must  be  coming;  but  all  are  of  interest  as 
showing  what  can  be  done  without  precedent  and  without 
any  other  inspiration  except  that  found  in  the  minds  of 
their  authors. 

The  whole  tendency  of  arehitecture  of  to-day,  and  in- 
deed of  every  art,  is  away  from  precedent,  and  is  reaching 
out  toward  some  goal  which  is  as  yet  hidden  to  us.  We 
do  not  know  whether  the  great  and  fresh  art  movement  at 
the  present  time  is  but  the  beginning  of  an  evolution,  or 
whether  it  is  already  at  its  height;  the  former  seems  prob- 
able. We  cannot  forecast  from  past  movement  the  pro- 
gress of  the  present,  for  at  no  past  time  were  the  artists  and 
artisans  so  thoroughly  familar  with,  and  so  well  drilled  in, 
old  work.  Their  knowledge  of  precedent  extended  back 
only  a  tew  years  and  was  confined  to  a  very  small  territory; 
ours  covers  the  whole  range  ot  historic  time,  and  of  all  the 

2  i  2 


RESIDENCE  OF  MR.  RUDOLPH  TIETIG 

CINCINNATI,  OHIO 

TIETIG  &  LEE,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
world,  and  it  is  impossible  to  say  what  influence  this  know- 
ledge has  to  speed  up  a  development,  or  to  retard  it,  bv 
confusing  its  progress  with  too  varied  knowledge.  We  do 
not  even  know  whether  the  present-day  movement  is  that 
of  some  great  wave  in  the  life  of  art,  or  only  a  ripple  on 
its  surface.  We  are  probably  attaching  too  great  value  to 
present  tendencies.  Their  influence  mav  be  by  no  means 
so  permanent  or  so  powerful  as  we  think,  vet  it  is  only  by 
honestly  believing  that  everything  we  are  doing  is  of 
utmost  importance,  that  we  can  really  do  enduring  work; 
tor  all  new  work  that  is  worth  while  is  an  honest  expres- 
sion not  only  of  the  spirit  of  the  architect,  but  of  the  spirit 
of  the  time  in  which  he  lives. 


2  i  4 


CHAPTER   XI 

JAPANESQUE 

ARCHITECTURE  at  the  present  time  is  nothing  if  not 
■L  Jl  eclectic.  As  has  been  said  before,  our  architects  have 
searched  the  world  for  ideas  and,  of  many  extraneous 
sources,  none  is  more  interesting  than  the  Japanesque,  and 
there  is  none  so  utterly  foreign  to  our  traditions. 

There  are  nevertheless  many  features  of  the  Japanese 
work  which  deserve  the  respectful  consideration  of  the 
architect.  It  is  the  aim  of  all  to  use  materials  in  a  proper 
way  so  that  the  full  beauty  of  each  material  may  be  ob- 
tained. There  is  no  material  without  beauty  when  it  is 
properly  handled,  and  there  is  no  material  which  does  not 
lose  by  being  employed  as  an  imitation  of  some  other,  even 
though  the  other  be  much  more  expensive  and  difficult  to 
employ  in  construction.  It  is  in  precisely  this  point  of 
frankness  in  the  handling  of  materials  that  the  Japanese 
excel.      Every  traveler   returning  from  Japan  speaks  of  the 

2I5 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
wonderful  treatment  of  wood  to  bring  out  the  hill  color 
and  richness  of  the  grain,  and  it  is  evident  from  all  photo- 
graphs of  [apanese  work  that  their  stonework  is  masterly, 
possibly  because  they  spend  little  time  and  labor  in  cutting 
and  polishing  it,  but  use  it  in  its  natural  condition.  Of 
course  there  are  some  of  the  [apanese  materials  which  we 
cannot  use.  It  seems  unlikely  that  paper  partitions  will 
ever  become  popular  in  this  climate,  although  the  Japanese 
continue  to  use  them  in  the  face  ot  winters  as  cold  as  ours, 
ami  much  ot  their  construction  is  not  intended  to  be  dur- 
able, but  rather  to  be  renewed  without  inconvenience  or 
much  expense  when  its  term  ot  usefulness  has  expired. 
Here  we  have  a  prejudice  in  favor  ot  durability. 

It  has  not  been  by  Japanese  dwelling-houses  that 
American  country-house  work  has  been  inspired,  but 
rather  by  the  temples  and  castles.  There  is  little  Japanese 
work  which  does  not  attract  the  American  architect;  this 
may  be  because  ot  its  complete  novelty;  and  those  who 
have  studied  Japanese  architecture  with  care  often  find 
much  to  regret  in  a  building  which  to  the  unlearned  seems 
perfection.  As  with  [apanese  art  ot  other  kinds,  as  shown, 
tor  example,  in  their  theaters  and  their  pictures,  their  \  iew- 

2  i  6 


TICHENOR  HOUSE 

LONG  BEACH,  CALIFORNIA 

GREENE  &  GREENE,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSKS 

point  is  so  different  that  it  is  impossible  to  properly  grasp 
it,  and  it  may  be  that  in  our  imitations  of  Japanese  work 
we  are  copying  the  poorest  and  not  the  best. 

The  houses  here  presented  have  a  eompelling  charm. 
Whether  this  will  be  enduring  future  generations  alone  can 
tell,  but  no  resume  of  American  country-house  architecture 
of  to-day  can  omit  these  houses  without  omitting  some  of 
the  sincerest  and  most  inspiring  work  ot  recent  years.  As 
is  natural,  these  houses  are  most  common  upon  the  Pacific 
coast,  vet  once  in  a  while  an  eastern  architect  uses  the 
Japanese  form  consciously,  as  Cope  and  Stewardson  did  in 
a  Japanese  house  for  a  Philadelphia  exposition  some  years 
since;  or  oftener  because,  aiming  like  the  Japanese,  at  a 
use  of  materials  which  will  explain  itself,  he  arriyes  at  a 
similar  conclusion. 

Messrs.  Greene  and  Greene  have  carried  the  Japanese 
treatment  further  than  any  other  architects  whose  work 
has  been  brought  at  all  before  the  public.  The  Tichenor 
house  at  Long  Reach,  California,  and  the  residence  in 
Pasadena,  here  illustrated,  seem  like  the  utmost  limits  to 
which  Japanese  architecture  could  be  stretched,  and  still 
meet   American    requirements.      Nevertheless   it    may  even 

218 


RESIDENCE  IN 

PASADENA,  CALIFORNIA 

GREENE  &  GREENE,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

be  that  they  arc  only  the  tirst  beginnings  of  an  evolution. 
They  arc  very  consciously  adaptations  from  Japanese 
sources  and  so  eloquent  of  Japan  that  one  is  tempted  to 
believe  that  Greene  and  Greene  must  have  studied  the  archi- 
tecture on  its  native  soil.  Even  the  twisted  and  unusual 
forms  of  the  trees  and  shrubs  agree  with  the  house  in  per- 
fecting the  illusion  of  a  foreign  country. 

Of  course  the  patio  idea  is  not  foreign  to  California,  but 
when  it  is  treated  in  a  Japanese  way,  as  in  the  garden  of 
the  Tichenor  residence,  it  is  very  unusual.  The  stvle  is 
perhaps  happier  in  the  accessories  to  the  house  than  in  the 
house  itself.  Certainly  nothing  could  be  more  delightful 
than  this  garden  with  its  high  arched  Japanese  bridge  span- 
ning the  pool  from  the  rough  boulders  on  either  side.  Of 
flowers  and  plants  there  are  few,  but  the  whole  composi- 
tion is  utterly  delightful.  Big  balconies  on  the  second 
story  of  the  house  are  a  splendid  arrangement  for  seaside 
cottages,  and  in  any  style  but  this  most  difficult  to  com- 
pose. It  may  be  that  even  in  this  style  it  was  hard  to  do, 
but  is  so  successful  that  it  seems  simple.  The  various  ma- 
terials used  in  this  house  are  quite  along  Japanese  lines, 
although    each    by    itself    is  a    well-known    one.        The  half- 

220 


TEA  HOUSE  AND  POOL 

LONG  BEACH,  CALIFORNIA 

GREENE  &  GREENE,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRKD   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

timber  work  with  brick  filling  is  not  uncommon,  and  yet 
because  of  the  extreme  roughness  with  which  the  bricks 
are  used,  it  gives  the  effect  of  a  new  material.  Shingles  arc- 
In  no  means  an  uncommon  covering  tor  the  exterior  of  a 
house,  nor  is  tile  unusual  on  the  root;  yet  the  whole  com- 
bination as  used  here  is  novel  in  the  extreme.  The  brackets 
and  the  balustrade  are  very  simply  handled  in  a  way  thor- 
oughly Japanese,  but  with  a  cleverness  that  is  clearly  due 
to  the  architects  and  not  to  the  source. 

The  Pasadena  residence  is  bv  no  means  as  interesting  as 
the  one  at  Long  Beach,  vet  even  so  has  a  charm  which  must 
be  recognized  bv  everyone.  It  is  probably  the  only  house 
in  America  with  a  white  roof,  but  so  skilfully  is  this  han- 
dled that  one  does  not  even  think  ot  it  as  a  curiosity,  and 
is  almost  persuaded  to  go  and  do  likewise.  The  method 
of  laving  the  bricks  in  the  retaining  walls  mixed  in  with 
boulder  stones  is  curious  and  interesting,  but  the  question 
of  its  beauty  lies  in  the  taste  of  the  individual.  Just  how- 
good  these  houses  are  cannot  be  said.  The  standards  with 
which  we  are  wont  to  measure  do  not  here  apply,  but  that 
they  are  full  of  suggestion  is  undeniable. 

Dr.  Guv  Cochran's   house,  while  strongly  influenced    by 

222 


RESIDENCE  OF  DR.  GUY  COCHRAN 

PASADENA,  CALIFORNIA 

MYRON  HUNT  &  ELMER  GREY,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

Japanese  art,  is  not  carried  to  the  extreme  of  these  other 
houses.  The  entrance-front  (practically  the  rear  of  the 
house)  is  almost  English  in  character,  while  the  garden 
front  is  Japanese  only  in  a  measure.  Stucco  is  and  has 
been  tor  centuries  a  favorite  material  in  Japan,  and  the  best 
of  Japanese  architects  would  not  be  ashamed  had  he  used 
it  here.  The  center  of  the  garden  front  is  formed  by  a 
tremendous  group  of  windows  looking  down  on  the  garden 
shaded  by  an  awning  whose  edge  has  been  designed.  Once 
in  a  while  one  sees  an  awning  about  whose  color  and  de- 
sign some  thought  has  been  taken.  The  best  house  can 
be  spoiled  by  ugly  awnings  and  the  worst  house  can  be 
improved  by  well-chosen  ones,  yet  they  are  a  feature  seldom 
thought  of  except  by  the  German  mechanic  who  makes 
them.  It  is  bv  the  eomplete  harmony  of  these  little  and 
comparatively  unimportant  details  that  a  house  may  be 
made  perfect  of  its  own  kind,  and  that  the  same  care  is  not 
taken  by  all  architects  in  regard  to  them  cannot  be  suffiei- 
entlv  deplored.  Whether  it  is  because  they  are  too  busy 
to  pay  to  them  the  attention  they  deserve,  or  whether  it  is 
that  the  owner  dismisses  his  architect  when  the  bare  skele- 
ton  of  the  house  is  completed,  varies  with  the  individual 

2  24 


RESIDENCE  OF  DR.  GUY   COCHRAN 

PASADENA,  CALIFORNIA 

MYRON  HUNT  &  ELMER  GREY,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
case,  but  it  an  architect  is  good  tor  anything  he  is  certainly 
good  enough  to  complete  the  work  and  not  leave  it  halt 
finished.  One  ot  the  delighttul  things  about  this  Cochran 
house  is  that  everything  has  been  thought  out:  the  walls, 
the  walks,  the  gardening,  the  awnings  —  all  harmonize  with 
the  house,  combining  to  give  to  its  authors  a  reputation 
among  other  architects  altogether  out  ot  proportion  to  the 
money  value  ot  the  houses  they  have  built,  and  only  com- 
parable with  the  artistic  excellence  ot  their  work. 

Ot  the  Western  architects,  one  ot  the  most  imaginative 
is  Bernard  Maybeck,  and  it  is  to  be  regretted  that  only  the 
little  Farrington  studio  can  here  be  reproduced.  His 
Faculty  Club  House  at  the  Uniyersity  of  Calitornia  is  out- 
side the  scope  ot  this  book.  Yet  while  the  single  example 
ot  Mr.  May  beck's  work  shown  is  perhaps  the  least  expen- 
sive thing  he  has  ever  done,  tor  that  very  reason  it  is  a  good 
one  to  show.  The  whole  thing  is  so  simple  that  it  would 
seem  impossible  to  make  anything  ot  it,  but  by  the  judi- 
cious use  of  materials,  the  excellence  ot  the  proportion  and 
the  quaintness  and  richness  ot  the  pergolas  and  trellisses,  a 
most  delighttul  piece  ot  picturesque  architecture  has  been 
evolved.      Thoroughly  Japanese  in  quality,  this  effect  is  due 

226 


THE  FARRINGTON  STUDIO 

BERKELEY,  CALIFORNIA 

BERNARD   MAYBECK,  ARCHITECT 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY   HOUSES 

in  all  probability  to  a  course  of  reasoning  similar  to  the 
Japanese  on  the  part  of  its  architect,  and  not  to  any  con- 
scious imitation.  The  full  beauty  of  the  woodwork  is 
preserved  ;  of  moldings  and  turned  work  there  is  none,  and 
it  is  all  the  more  excellent  for  that  reason. 

The  Adirondack  camp,  of  which  Davis  8c  McGrath  were 
the  architects,  is  a  piece  of  pure  design  whose  architects 
worked  without  much  thought  of  precedent,  and  achieved 
a  result  that  is  both  vital  and  full  of  meaning.  The  double 
roof,  the  railings,  and  the  black-and-white  color  of  the 
walls  all  remind  us  most  stronglv  of  japan,  as  does  the 
general  handling  of  the  entire  problem  in  its  location.  Too 
often  a  house  is  designed  to  fit  any  site,  and,  therefore,  seems 
stereotyped  and  commonplace,  but  this  one  is  evidently 
suitable  to  this  situation  and  to  this  situation  only.  Every 
log-cabin  has  the  joints  between  the  logs  filled  with  clay; 
here  the  architects  have  used  mortar,  colored  white,  and 
have  tinted  the  ends  of  the  poles  of  the  overhang,  white  to 
match.  This  use  of  poles  instead  of  rafters  has  resulted  in 
a  charming  piece  of  decoration  along  the  edge  of  the 
piazza  roof.  It  was  from  the  decorative  results  produced 
unconsciously  by  the  employment  of  natural  materials  that 

2  2  S 


A  CAMP  ON  LAKE  WILBERT 

ADIRONDACK  MOUNTAINS 

DAVIS  &  McGRATH,  ARCHITECTS 


ONK  HUNDRKD  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

the  world's  ornament  has  for  the  most  part  been  evolved, 
and  it  is  pleasant  to  know  that  once  in  a  while  an  archi- 
tect has  the  courage  to  "revert  to  type,"  as  has  here  been 
done,  and  rind  his  ornament  not  in  books,  but  in  Life. 

The  cottage  at  Tuxedo  Park  is  another  example  of 
American  architecture  which  owes  its  success  to  the 
exquisite  use  ot  materials.  The  stonework  is  especially  de- 
lightful, and  the  contrast  between  the  large  and  small  mem- 
bers in  the  half-timber  work  compels  admiration.  It  is 
good  to  meet  architects  who  have  the  courage  and  ambi- 
tion not  to  accept  the  obvious  methods  of  handling  ordi- 
nary materials;  even  in  the  method  of  shingling  a  roof. 
All  the  horizontal  lines  of  this  cottage  are  strong,  and  this 
effect  is  continued  by  making  every  sixth  course  of  shingles 
in  the  roof  a  double  one,  producing  a  somewhat  heavier 
shadow  than  there  is  elsewhere.  The  trim  of  the  rafter- 
ends  is  interesting  and  characteristically  Japanese,  although 
it  was  probably  approached  from  an  entirely  different  view- 
point, as  Mr.  Barber  is  an  architect  trained  in  France,  and 
whose  work  customarily  follows  French  lines.  Most  archi- 
tects of  successful  country  houses  are  those  who  specialize 
in  such  work,  not  by  choice  perhaps,  but  bv  necessity;    yet, 

230 


A  COTTAGE  FOR  MR.  DELAFIELD 

TUXEDO  PARK,  N.  Y. 

DONN  BARBER,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

as  can  be  seen  in  this  house,  an  architect  good  in  one  class 
of  work  is  usually  qualified  tor  all,  and  success  rests  upon 
inherent  merit  alone  and  not  upon  continuous  practice  in 
any  particular  branch  of  design. 


232 


CHAPTER   XII 

THE    HOUSE   AND   THE   GARDEN 

TO  the  architect  the  term  "garden"  does  not  mean 
an  acre  lot  full  of  vegetables,  nor  even  an  open  space 
full  of  flowers,  but  rather  that  part  of  the  grounds  adjacent 
to  the  house  which  is  treated  in  such  a  manner  as  to  dis- 
play the  house  to  its  best  advantage.  The  garden  is  the 
link  which  forms  an  intermediate  step  between  the  purely 
artificial  building  and  its  natural  environment,  and  is  there- 
fore of  dual  character,  partly  natural  and  partly  conven- 
tional. Some  attempt  at  an  attractive  treatment  of  the 
grounds  is  almost  always  made  by  the  home-builder,  and 
the  tendency  to-day  is  to  discuss  with  the  architect  the  dis- 
position of  the  shrubs,  flowers,  and  paths,  so  as  to  best  dis- 
play the  good  qualities  of  the  building  and  to  mask  as  far 
as  possible  its  weak  points.  No  house,  however  small,  should 
be  left  without  some  serious  eflort  at  arranging  the  sur- 
roundings to  harmonize  with  the  house.      These  may  be  of 

233 


ONK    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

the  simplest  description,  a  few  shrubs,  vines  against  the 
house,  and  some  small  trees,  or  —  as  is  the  ease  with  some 
of  our  large  country  places  —  the  surroundings  may  be 
treated  for  miles  to  lead  up  to  the  heart  of  the  whole:  the 
house  of  its  owner. 

Bright  flowers  add  immensely  to  the  appearance  of  a 
place,  and  although  almost  any  kind  is  beautiful,  still  some 
judgment  should  be  exercised  in  securing  colors  which  blend 
with  the  colors  of  the  building,  and  in  picking  out  flowers 
and  shrubs  whose  blossoms  are  either  large  or  which  grow 
in  thick  masses.  Probably  the  best  of  all  flowers  from  the 
viewpoint  of  the  architect  is  the  hollyhock.  Its  tall  and 
stately  form,  the  freedom  with  which  it  blossoms,  and  the 
magnificent  colors  of  the  bloom  all  make  it  an  ideal  plant 
for  growth  near  the  house.  Asters  in  the  fall  are  excellent, 
and  for  early  spring  blooming  the  iris  is  good;  especially 
as  its  beautiful  leaves  assist  in  the  decoration  of  a  place 
long  after  its  flowers  have  faded. 

Of  the  shrubs  azaleas  are  the  most  satisfactory;  their  wide 
range  of  brilliant  colors,  and  the  large  size  to  which  they 
eventually  grow,  suit  them  well  for  the  kind  of  gardening 
which  is  here  taken  up.     Rhododendrons  both  in  their  nat- 

234 


GARDEN   OF  MR.  JAMES  HAMILTON 

DETROIT,  MICH. 

STRATTON  &  BALDWIN,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

ural  and  cultivated  varieties  are  also  useful,  and  the  tact 
that  they  are  evergreen  makes  them  valuable  tor  decoration 
in  the  winter.  Althaeas,  or  as  they  are  more  commonly 
known,  "  Rose  of  Sharon,"  bloom  in  August  at  a  time  when 
few  other  shrubs  are  in  flower,  and  as  they  increase  in  age 
the  stems  take  on  a  gnarled  and  twisted  appearance  which 
is  very  attractive.  No  attempt  can  here  be  made  to  give 
anything  like  a  full  catalogue  ot  the  better  shrubs  and  flowers 
for  planting.  The  tew  above  enumerated  and  those  which 
most  closely  resemble  them  are  spoken  ot  only  to  illustrate 
the  kind  ot  thing  tor  which  one  should  seek  in  gardens  close 
to  the  house. 

The  Hamilton  house  is  quite  near  to  the  street,  and 
in  order  to  avoid  dust  and  to  secure  as  much  privacy  as 
possible,  the  garden  is  placed  in  the  rear  in  an  angle  ot  the 
house  upon  a  little  terrace.  It  is  yery  simple,  cut  off  from 
the  service  portion  by  a  pergola  and  a  trellis  at  the  right, 
and  from  the  lot  next  door  by  beds  thickly  planted  with 
trees,  shrubs,  and  flowers.  This  same  type  ot  garden  could 
be  used  with  the  grass  terraced  to  replace  the  stone  wall, 
and  gravel  walks  instead  ot  cement  ones,  and  it  would  give 
to  every  householder  a  bright    and  cheerful   place  to   spend 

236 


GARDEN   OF  DR.  GUY  COCHRAN 

PASADENA,  CALIFORNIA 

MYRON  HUNT  &  ELMER  GREY,  ARCHITECTS 


ONK  HUNDRKD  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
his  afternoons  in  seclusion.  Only  a  few  varieties  of  flowers 
are  used  here,  and  it  is  better  to  use  many  plants  of  few 
varieties  than  to  attempt  to  include  in  a  garden,  if  the  space 
be  limited,  enough  kinds  to  give  a  continual  bloom,  tor  in 
that  case  the  garden  will  never  be  very  attractive,  since  there 
will  never  be  at  one  time  sufficient  color. 

The  garden  of  Dr.  Guy  Cochran's  residence  is  without 
flowers  with  the  exception  ot  a  tew  iris  plants  around  the 
pool.  The  beauty  ot  this  garden  is  due  to  the  charming 
vista  terminating  at  a  glassed-in  porch  and  bounded  on 
either  side  by  the  dwarted  truit-trees.  The  vista  is  a  most 
important  feature  of  gardens  and  to  be  successful  must  be, 
as  in  this  case,  interesting  in  itself,  broken  up  by  objects  of 
interest,  and  terminated  by  some  more  or  less  important 
feature.  The  sun-dial  is  one  ot  the  "objects  ot  interest" 
more  commonly  used  and  most  charming  in  effect,  espe- 
cially when  it  can  be  reflected  by  water.  A  little  pool 
always  adds  to  the  beauty  of  a  garden.  Water  flowers  ot 
all  sorts  are  attracti\  e,  and  the  water  itself  with  its  possi- 
bility of  reflection  and  movement,  suggesting  lite,  is  almost 
indispensable. 

In   the  garden  of  Casa  del    Ponte  architectural  motives 

238 


CASA  DEL  PONTE 

ROWAYTON,  CONN. 

SLEE  &  BRYSON,  ARCHITECTS 


ONE  HUNDRED  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
are  introduced  with  more  freedom  than  in  the  two  forego- 
ing instances,  and  the  columns,  vases,  and  pergola,  together 
with  the  tubs  of  arbor  vita,  interspersed  with  masses  of  hol- 
lyhocks and  dwarf  oak-trees,  all  lead  the  eve  gradually  to 
the  house  from  the  natural  woodland  around.  The  man- 
ner in  which  the  walk  is  terminated  is  especially  worth 
imitation,  for  there  is  no  abruptness  of  change  perceptible, 
but  the  transformation  is  accomplished  in  a  gradual  and 
ordered  sequence. 

The  studio  and  garden  of  the  Bartlett  house  remind  us 
in  many  ways  of  the  best  of  the  Italian  gardens,  but  the 
shapes  of  the  lattices,  of  the  fences  and  pergolas,  are  very 
distinctly  along  modern  lines.  It  was  not  possible  in  this 
case  to  make  any  gradual  transition  from  the  garden  to  the 
woods,  and  the  trees  were  so  large  that  had  it  not  been  for 
the  original  and  beautiful  manner  of  designing  the  garden, 
they  would  have  appeared  to  dominate  and  encroach  upon 
it.  The  pool  is  used  here,  too,  with  excellent  effect.  The 
hollyhocks  in  the  center  of  the  picture  furnish  an  excellent 
screen  for  the  terrace  wall,  and  permit  the  studio  to  be 
seen  in  exactly  the  proper  relation  to  the  garden. 

The  question  of   boundaries  which  is  here   solved  in    so 

240 


THE  A.  C.  BARTLETT  STUDIO  AND  GARDEN 

LAKE  GENEVA,  WISCONSIN 

HOWARD  SHAW,  ARCHITECT 


ONE   HUNDRKD   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

unusual  and  picturesque  a  manner  is  always  a  difficult  one. 
It  is  best  tor  a  formal  garden  such  as  this,  to  select,  when 
possible,  some  spot  where  the  boundaries  are  natural,  per- 
haps using  the  side  of  the  house  as  one,  and  such  other 
natural  features  as  may  be  found  for  the  others,  strength- 
ening them  with  architectural  features  as  in  Casa  del 
Ponte,  or  with  a  terrace  as  in  the  Hamilton  garden. 

The  success  of  any  garden  lies  largely  in  securing  proper 
vistas  and  in  the  successful  handling  of  the  boundaries. 
Their  angles  must  usually  be  strengthened,  and  in  the  large 
and  formal  work  small  summer-houses,  technically  called 
gazebos,  are  employed.  Those  in  the  garden  of  Weld  are 
among  the  most  beautiful  which  come  to  mind,  even  as 
Weld  is  perhaps  the  most  perfect  garden  in  the  world. 
This  is  said  with  the  wonderful  Italian  gardens  fresh  in 
memory,  and  it  is  a  triumphant  illustration  of  what  genius 
ami  money  combined  can  accomplish  in  a  short  time.  Mr. 
Piatt  without  the  client  could  never  have  added  this  gar- 
den to  his  list  of  superb  accomplishments,  nor  could  the 
owner  without  Mr.  Piatt  have  obtained  this  triumph  of  art. 
The  garden  is  a  very  large  one,  around  its  sides  run  wide 
terraces,  the  corners  of  which  are  strengthened  by  the  gazebos 

242 


THE  GARDEN  OF  WELD 

BROOKLINE,  MASS. 

CHARLES  A.  PLATT,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRFD  COUNTRY  HOUSES 
shown  in  the  photograph.  At  the  extreme  end  of  the  gar- 
den facing  the  house  is  a  sort  of  little  altar,  which  can  be 
seen  in  the  center  of  the  picture,  with  a  fountain  at  its  base 
and  columns  of  excellent  design  flanking  it.  Through  the 
center  runs  an  open  grass  plot  and  this  is  flanked  on  either 
end  bv  masses  of  bloom  rising  up  the  terrace. 

In  another  of  Mr.  Piatt's  gardens,  at  Faulkner  Farm,  the 
garden  is  terminated  at  the  rear  bv  the  casino  and,  with 
pergolas  flanking  it  on  either  side,  it  fronts  upon  a  pool  in 
which  the  whole  is  reflected.  It  is  impossible  for  most  of 
us  to  spend  the  money  required  to  obtain  anything  like 
this,  but  some  motive  of  this  character  is  an  excellent  one 
for  formal  gardening  even  of  the  small  and  simple  kind. 
Most  of  us  like  to  have  a  definite  objective  when  we  walk, 
even  though  the  distance  to  be  traversed  is  only  the  length 
of  the  garden;  for  that  reason,  if  for  no  other,  some  place 
to  sit  at  the  end  of  the  garden  opposite  the  house  is  good 
to  have.  It  does  not  need  to  be  covered,  it  may  be  only 
a  couple  of  seats  and  a  table,  but  in  any  inclosed  garden 
it  is  an  essential  feature.  Pergolas  are  used  at  Faulkner 
Farm  for  the  boundary  wall  at  the  rear  of  the  garden  and 
some   sort    of   pergola  has  grown   to  be  a   habit   nowadays. 

24.4 


THE  CASINO  AT  FAULKNER  FARM 

BROOKLINE,  MASS. 

CHARLES  A.  PLATT,  ARCHITECT 


ONE  HUNDRKD  COUNTRY  HOUSES 

It  is  a  habit  which  is  well  worth  while,  tor  when  oxer- 
grown  by  vines,  shaded  bv  trees,  pierced  through  with  spots 
of  sunlight  and  casting  shadows  of  irregular  and  delightful 
form,  there  is  no  piazza  which  can  compare  with  it.  One 
thing  should  be  remembered,  however, in  placing  a  pergola: 
there  must  be  a  need  for  it.  It  cannot  simply  "happen" 
anywhere,  like  a  postage-stamp  set  in  the  middle  of  an 
envelop,  but  must  bear  some  definite  relation  to  the  whole 
layout  of  the  grounds;  then  nothing  can  surpass  it.  It 
is  this  quality  of  fitness  that  makes  success  not  only  in 
this  but  in  every  other  feature  of  gardening.  The  sur- 
roundings and  the  shape  of  the  plot  must  be  most  carefully 
studied  and  worked  over  and  accentuated  to  produce  the  best 
results.  Columns  and  statues  are  bv  no  means  essential, 
at  times  they  are  absolutely  unsuitable.  The  garden,  like 
the  house,  must  be  studied  as  an  individual  case  and  not  as 
a  general  proposition  to  be  laid  down  and  followed. 


246 


CHAPTER   XIII 

THE   PLAN   OF   THE   HOUSE 

EVEN  more  essential  than  an  attractive  exterior  is  a 
good  plan,  but  it  is  so  entirely  dependent  upon  cost 
and  individual  requirements  as  to  necessitate  each  problem 
to  be  worked  out  afresh.  For  this  reason  only  a  tew  typi- 
cal plans  are  illustrated,  as  against  many  exterior  views,  since 
any  exterior  which  pleases  a  client  is  susceptible  of  reduc- 
tion and  variation  to  a  degree  which  is  impossible  in  a  plan. 

A  successful  plan  embodies  three  qualities:  it  is  econom- 
ical both  of  space  and  ot  operation,  and  it  makes  an 
attractive  interior  possible. 

Taking  up  the  first  of  these  considerations,  economy  ot 
space,  there  are  certain  governing  tactors  which  enter  into 
every  plan,  be  it  large  or  small.  The  most  important  is 
the  relative  size  ot  rooms.  There  should  be  one  room  ot 
sufficient  area  to  comfortably  seat  all  the  family  and  such 
guests  as  may  be  ordinarily  expected.     The  modern  house 

247 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

has  no  parlor,  the  large  room  now  generally  called  the 
living-room  —  taking  its  plaee.  It  should  be  halt  again  as 
big  as  the  dining-room  and  should  be  much  longer  than 
its  width.  It  must  contain  a  fireplace,  space  tor  book- 
cases, possibly  for  a  piano,  and  should  be  arranged  in  such 
a  wav  that  all  the  occupants  may  form  themselves  into  a 
single  group,  or  can  tall  into  two  or  more,  according  as 
they  are  simply  sitting  around  the  tire  and  talking,  or  read- 
ing and  playing  cards.  Attached  to  this  living-room  it  is 
desirable  to  have  the  main  piazza,  which  torms  in  summer 
practically  an  extension  ot  it.  It  is  not  otten  wise  to  have 
the  piazza  across  the  front  ot  the  house  because  the  en- 
trance of  strangers  and  guests  to  the  front  door  breaks  up 
the  family  group  unnecessarily,  and  messengers  and  people 
having  purely  business  relations  should  be  enabled  to  come 
to  the  front  door  without  interrupting  their  occupations. 

The  living-room  should  have  windows  upon  at  least  two 
and,  if  practicable,  upon  three  sides,  so  that  thorough  ven- 
tilation is  secured  with  the  accompaniment  ot  coolness  in 
summer,  and  good  light  in  winter.  The  best  position  tor 
the  living-room  is  upon  the  south  end  ot  the  house,  with 
windows  on  the  south,  east,  and  west,  since   the  south  end 

248 


THE    PLAN    OF    THE    HOUSE 

of  the  house  is  both  the  warmest  in  the  winter  and  the 
coolest  in  the  summer.  The  dining-room  also  should  have 
east  windows,  and,  as  it  is  generally  desirable  to  remove  it 
as  far  from  the  living-room  as  possible,  it  falls  to  the  north. 
The  dining-room  does  not  need  to  be  by  any  means 
so  large  as  the  living-room;  people  are  always  concentrated 
around  the  table  in  that  room  and  no  provision  need  be 
made  for  scattered  groups.  A  fireplace  is  not  an  essential. 
It  is  an  excellent  decorative  feature,  but  seldom  of  any 
practical  use  since,  in  any  but  the  largest  dining-rooms,  the 
heat  of  the  fire  becomes  uncomfortable  to  those  seated  near 
it.  The  dining-room  should  be  nearly  square,  with  the 
sideboard  and  serving-table  arranged  on  the  sides  of  the 
room  so  that  the  table  may  be  extended  to  seat  a  compar- 
atively large  number  of  people.  For  an  ordinary  family 
of  not  over  six  persons,  and  in  a  house  which  costs  not  over 
$15,000,  a  dining-room  about  fifteen  by  seventeen  feet  is 
ample,  as  opposed  to  about  fifteen  by  twenty-five  for  the 
living-room. 

In  a  house  of  any  size  a  room  in  addition  to  the  dining- 
room  and  living-room  is  desirable  on  the  ground  floor,  call 
it  study,  den,  or  reception-room,  as  you  will.      The  condi- 

249 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 
tions  of  American  life  arc  such  that  in  a  family  where  there 
are  children,  thev  prefer  to  entertain  their  guests  apart  from 
their  elders,  and  two  rooms  become  then  inevitable.     Where 

the  head  of  the  family  is  a  professional  man,  or,  indeed,  in 
any  business  where  he  has  to  occasionally  see  his  clients  in 
his  own  home,  some  room  for  necessary  consultations,  and 
so  on,  is  desirable.  This  additional  room  need  not  be  large, 
probably  ten  by  fifteen  feet  is  in  most  cases  sufficient,  but 
it  must  be  possible  of  access  directly  from  the  hall,  and  to 
some  extent  secluded  from  both  the  dining-  and  living- 
rooms,  although  a  door  into  the  dining-room  makes  it 
possible  for  use  as  a  smoking-room  after  dinner.  The 
grouping  of  these  three  elements,  the  dining-  and  living- 
rooms  and  the  study,  together  with  the  hall  and  stairway 
and  the  servants1  portions,  becomes  then  the  plan  problem, 
and  the  manner  in  which  the  arrangement  may  be  varied 
is  according  to  the  location  of  the  lot,  the  preferable  means 
of  access  from  the  street,  and  the  individual  requirements 
of  the  owner. 

The  hall  is  essential  only  as  a  means  of  access  to  the 
rooms,  and  although  many  attempts  have  been  made  to 
utilize  the  hall  as  a  living-room,  they  are  usually  unsuccess- 

2  ;o 


THE  PLAN  OF  THE  HOUSE 
ful,  first,  because  the  number  of  doors  required  in  a  hall 
make  it  drafty  and  unpleasant  to  sit  in;  and,  second,  be- 
cause the  continual  passage  of  people  is  disturbing  to  those 
reading  or  playing  games.  Nevertheless  in  many  cases  a 
hall  of  suitable  size  is  essential  because  of  a  desire  to  ob- 
tain a  thorough  draft  or  to  give  as  impressive  an  entrance 
to  the  house  as  is  possible.  In  the  case  of  large  families 
there  is  usually  more  space  required  for  bedrooms  above 
than  for  rooms  below,  and  in  such  an  instance  a  large  hall- 
way is  an  excellent  method  of  obtaining  the  additional 
area  required. 

Doorways  opening  from  the  hall  into  the  different  rooms 
should  be  large  and  dignified,  and  while  sliding  doors  are 
usually  asked  for  by  the  prospective  builder,  they  are  sel- 
dom of  any  use  except  to  shut  off  the  rooms  when  cleaning 
is  in  progress,  and  as  they  are  often  difficult  to  handle  they 
fail  to  fulfil  their  anticipated  purpose. 

For  economy  in  operation  it  is  desirable  that  those  por- 
tions used  more  often  by  the  servants  should  be  in  close 
connection.  The  pantry  should  connect  directly  with  both 
the  kitchen  and  dining-room,  and  the  dining-room  and 
kitchen  should  be  shut  off  by  at  least  two  doors.     If  these 

25J 


ONE   HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

arc  made  swinging  doors,  so  that  they  may  be  pushed  open 
without  turning  a  handle,  it  saves  a  servant  much  trouble. 
The  kitchen  should  have,  where  possible,  two  closets,  one 
to  contain  the  refrigerator,  and  such  stores  as  are  best  kept 
in  a  cool  place,  and  the  other  tor  pots  and  pans.  Ample 
dresser  room  is  desirable  in  the  pantry,  and  an  excellent 
arrangement  of  the  pantry  would  permit  of  one  maid 
handling  dishes,  and  the  like,  near  the  pantry  sink,  without 
interfering  with  the  passage  of  another  from  the  kitchen  to 
the  dining-room. 

Many  housekeepers  desire  direct  entrance  from  the 
kitchen  to  the  front  door  without  passing  through  the  din- 
ing-room. In  theory  it  is  an  excellent  arrangement;  practi- 
cally, however,  it  does  not  work  out  so  well.  The  force  of 
habit  is  strong  enough  to  induce  almost  every  servant  to  go 
through  the  dining-room  to  the  front  door,  following  her 
usual  route,  even  though  the  other  be  much  easier;  and  as 
in  families  of  small  size  the  same  maid  answers  the  bell  and 
waits  on  the  table,  she  would  probably  be  in  the  dining- 
room  at  meal-times  anyway,  and  when  the  family  are  not 
in  the  dining-room  there  can  be  no  objection  to  her  pass- 
ing through.      A   rear  stairway  direct   from   the   kitchen   is 

252 


THE    PLAN   OF   THE    HOUSE 

not  as  satisfactory  as  one  from  the  pantry,  for,  unless  the 
rear  stairs  are  very  thoroughly  cut  off,  the  smell  of  the 
cooking  is  apt  to  penetrate  to  the  second  story. 

Every  kitchen  where  no  separate  maids'  dining-room  is 
provided  should  have  a  bright  and  cheerful  place  with  a 
pleasant  outlook  for  the  maids  to  sit  at  meals.  This  should 
be  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  kitchen  from  the  working 
part,  and  is  an  essential  feature  in  these  days  when  servants 
are  so  hard  both  to  obtain  and  retain. 

A  ground-floor  lavatory  is  desirable  where  there  are 
many  guests,  and  should  open  from  some  retired  part  of 
the  house,  possibly  from  the  study,  where  this  is  used  bv 
the  man  of  the  house.  A  servants'  toilet,  opening  from 
either  the  servants'  part  of  the  first  story,  or  in  the  cellar,  is 
almost  a  necessity,  since  most  servants'  rooms  are  on  the 
third  floor. 

The  third  essential  to  a  successful  plan  concerns  itself 
with  appearance  alone.  There  should  be  a  suggestion  of 
space  when  one  enters  the  house,  without  entirely  reveal- 
ing every  portion  of  it.  The  stairs  should  be  in  plain  sight, 
and  the  entrance  to  the  various  rooms  should  be  exactly 
where    expected.       The    opposite   wall   from   the   entrance 

253 


ONE    HUNDRK1)   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

should  be  made  interesting,  either  by  doorways,  windows, 
or  stairs,  and  no  parrot  the  entrance-hall  should  be  a  blank 
wall.  Doors  are  best  plaeed  opposite  each  other,  and  so 
that,  standing  in  one  room  and  looking  through  the  doors, 
the  vista  will  terminate  in  either  fireplace,  stairs,  or  win- 
dows. The  eolor  scheme  must  be  arranged  to  grade  grad- 
ually through  the  rooms  without  glaring  contrast  between 
those  adjoining.  Where  dull  and  quiet  eolors  of  wood- 
work are  employed,  the  wall-hangings,  the  rugs,  furniture- 
coverings,  and  curtains  may  be  very  brilliant  without  loss  of 
harmony,  but  where  the  woodwork  is  white,  rich  and  sub- 
dued eolors  are  essential. 

The  five  plans  shown  here  vary  in  size  from  a  house 
which  could  be  built  tor  about  S4.000  to  one  which  could 
be  built  tor  $  1  6,000  or  $  1  7,000,  and  the  same  basie  prinei- 
ples  will  be  found  in  all. 

The  first,  designed  by  Mr.  Her- 
man Boss,  is  exceedingly  compact, 
the  hall  reduced  to  a  minimum, 
with   the  stairs  at  one  side  and  the 


doorway    through    to    the    kitchen 
opposite  the  entrance;    the  living- 

254 


DMINi  ,  |4X  'rt 


UVINfl  ■  R/OOH 

"  -7  ■ 


THE    PLAN   OF   THE    HOUSE 

room  is  at  the  left.  Only  one  chimney  is  required  and 
that  is  placed  in  a  niche  opening  from  the  living-room, 
permitting  two  or  three  persons  to  be  seated  by  the 
lire,  while  the  rest  are  scattered  about  the  room.  The 
proportion  between  the  living-room,  dining-room,  and 
kitchen  is  excellent,  and  the  kitchen  has  an  extension 
where  the  maids  may  sit  and  be  removed  from  their  work. 
There  is  only  a  single  staircase  in  this  house,  but  it  is  so 
arranged  that  the  maids  may  pass  under  the  second  run  of 
it  to  go  up-stairs,  without  being  seen  from  the  main  portion 
ol  the  house.  This  portion  is  cut  off  by  two  doors  from 
the  kitchen,  a  very  desirable  feature  in  that  the  cellar  may 
be  entered  from  the  front  without  passing  through  the 
kitchen.  While  the  plan  as  shown  here  is  a  small  one,  it 
is  possible  ol  enlargement  by  increasing  each  room  in  pro- 
portion, to  a  house  which  would  be  exceedingly  convenient 
for  a  family  of  three  or  four  people  with  a  single  maid. 

The  second  plan,  which  can  be  built  for  about  S7000, 
is  excellent  in  giving  a  large  living-room  and  dining-room 
and  a  good-sized  kitchen  in  a  comparatively  small  area. 
The  stairway  is  in  principle  the  same  as  in  the  first  plan, 
there  being  no  back  stairway,  and  entrance  to  the  cellar  is 

255 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

possible  from  the 
front  of  the  house. 
In  both  of  these  plans 
the  maids  can  go  j, 
straight  to  the  front 
door  without  going  * 
through  the  dining- 
room,  although,  as  has 
been  before  said,  it  is 
seldom  that  they  ever  do  so.  The  ice-closet  is  close  to  the 
rear  porch  so  that  the  iceman  has  to  take  as  few  steps  as 
possible  in  the  kitchen,  and  the  pot  and  pan  closet  is  ar- 
ranged conveniently  to  the  range.  The  living-room  is  of 
ample  size  with  a  fireplace  well  placed  for  comfort,  and 
French  windows  on  either  side  leading  directly  to  the 
porch.  While  the  hall  is  comparatively  small,  every  one 
of  its  four  sides  is  interesting.  This  plan  was  used  in  the 
Bull  house  in  the  Dutch  Colonial  chapter. 

The  third  plan  is  one  with  a  large  hall  suitable  for  a 
living-room;  the  front  staircase  goes  up  at  one  side,  and  a 
first-floor  lavatory  is  arranged  under  the  front  staircase  in 
the   secondary   passageway   between    the   kitchen    and    hall. 

256 


THE   PLAN   OF   THE    HOUSE 

The  dining-room  and  living-room  are  placed  at  either  end, 
with  the  living-room  slightly  larger  than  the  dining-room. 
The  chimney  in  the  living-room  comes  at  such  a  point 
that  it  can  be  seen  all  the  way  through  the  house,  from  the 
dining-room,  giving  a  beautiful  appearance.  The  pantry, 
here   called    the   china   closet,   affords  a   simple    and   direct 


connection  from  the  kitchen  to  the  dining-room,  and  the 
refrigerator  closet  is  placed  off  the  entrv  in  an  excellent 
manner.      This  plan  is  by  Mr.  Lovell  Little. 

The    fourth  plan  is  one   in  which   the   hall  runs  straight 
through,  with  the  stairs  at  one   side,  and   the  dining-room 

and  study  opening  from  it  at  the   right  by  little  lobbies 

the  living-room  at  the  other  side.  This  permits  of  a  carri- 
age entrance  at   the   rear,  with  a  walk  up  to   the   front,  an 

257 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

arrangement  which  is  often  desirable,  since  either  a  garden 
or  a  lawn  can  be  placed  in  the  front  of  the  house  in  place 


of  the  usual  dusty  road.  The  study  has  an  entrance  both 
from  the  hall  and  from  the  dining-room,  which  permits  its 
use,  as  before  suggested,  as  a  smoking-room.  The  back- 
stairs open  directly  from  the  kitchen,  and  the  servants' 
quarters  would  be  kept  on  the  second  floor  over  the  kitchen 
extension,  with  the  guest  rooms  on  the  third  floor. 

The  last  plan  illustrated  is  that  of  the  Orr  house  in  the 
chapter  on  Dutch  Colonial,  and  is  the  largest  and  most 
complete  of  all.  The  entrance  is  from  a  little  loggia  porch, 
and  faces  directly  the   stairs,  under  which  is  placed  a  lava- 

2^8 


THE    PLAN    OF    THE    HOUSE 

tory.  The  entrance-hall  is  reduced  to  a  corridor  with  an 
arcaded  ceiling,  at  one  end  of  which  is  the  dining-room  and 
at  the  other  the  living-room.  From  this  corridor  at  the  back 
ot  the  house  open  a  reception-room  and  study,  while  coat 


closets  are  placed  adjoining  the  dining-room  and  living- 
room  on  the  front.  The  kitchen  and  pantry  arrangements 
are  very  complete,  with  the  stairs  to  the  second  storv  going 
up  from  the  pantry  and  down  to  the  basement  from  the 
kitchen.  A  rear  entrance  for  carriages  is  placed  under  the 
stairs  at  the  back,  while  the  entrance  to  the  front  is  for 
people  on  foot  only.  The  living-room  has  ample  wall 
space  for  furniture,  and  at  the  same  time  is  brightlv  lighted. 
The  fireplace  in  the  dining-room  is  kept  as  far  back  in 
the  wall  as  possible,  so  that  the  mantel  will  not  crowd  the 
passage  around   the   table.      The  plan   is  excellent  in  per- 

259 


ONE    HUNDRED   COUNTRY    HOUSES 

mitring  through  ventilation  in  every  room  and  giving  airi- 
ness and  spaciousness  combined  with  excellent  working 
qualities. 

No  second-floor  plans  have  been  shown  because  these 
vary  so  enormously  that  a  tew  examples  would  not  even 
be  of  suggestive  value  to  the  home-builder.  A  tew  words, 
however,  on  the  modern  tendency  of  second-floor  plan  may 
not  be  amiss.  People  are  coming  more  and  more  to  house 
the  servants  in  extensions  above  the  kitchen,  reserving  the 
third  storv  for  guest  rooms  or  tor  children's  rooms.  in 
many  cases  the  outlook  from  the  third  storv  surpasses  that 
from  anywhere  else  in  the  house,  and  big,  light,  and  airy 
rooms  are  possible,  while  the  improved  methods  ot  con- 
struction of  to-day  have  done  away  with  the  old-fashioned 
theory  that  rooms  directly  under  the  root  are  invariably 
hot.  In  the  second  floor,  where  there  are  young  children, 
it  is  desirable  to  arrange  the  owner's  room  ami  one  or  two 
children's  rooms  en  suite,  so  that  they  may  be  completely 
cut  oil  from  the  remainder  ot  the  house,  and  the  doors  left 
open  at  night,  without  tear  ot  the  great  American  bogie — 
"the  burglar."  Jt  is  perhaps  not  necessary  to  add  that 
bath-rooms     are     constantly     increasing     in     proportionate 

260 


THE   PLAN   OF   THE    HOUSE 

number  to  the  bedrooms,  and  a  separate  bath-room  for  the 
owner,  with  one  tor  the  children,  and  one  tor  the  guests, 
will  soon  be  an  essential  in  every  house,  however  small. 

For  the  best  placing  ot  furniture  rooms  should  be  kept 
as  tree  trom  angles  and  projections  as  may  be.  Flverv 
room  should  have  ample  closets,  with  outside  light  where 
possible.  Built-in  cupboards  for  dresses,  coats,  shirts,  and  so 
torth,  are  a  customary  teature,  and  a  soiled-clothes  chute 
trom  the  second  and  third  floor  to  the  laundry  in  the  base- 
ment, where  it  can  be  introduced,  is  a  saving  of  labor. 
Open  fireplaces  in  bedrooms  assist  in  ventilation,  especially 
in  cases  of  sickness. 

While  no  attempt  has  been  made  to  enter  fully  into  the 
subject  ot  plan,  these  tew  suggestions  may  prove  ot  help 
to  those  intending  to  erect  a  house,  and  no  one  ot  them 
has  been  made  without  due  regard  tor  the  requirements 
ot  the  average  American  ot  moderate  means.  It  is  prob- 
ably impossible  to  combine  them  all  in  one  house  without 
too  great  a  sacrifice  of  factors  dependent  upon  the  individ- 
ual case,  but  in  a  broad  and  generous  sense  they  are 
applicable  to  all. 


261 


D.   H.    HILL   LIBRARY 
North  Carolina  State  College 


LIST  OF  ARCHITECTS 


Albro  &  Lindeberg 203 

Alderi  &  Harlow 41 

Atterbury,  Grosvenor 95,  14- 

Bailey  cc  Bassett 55 

Barber,  Dorm 23] 

Bates,  William  A " 143 

Benedict,  William  K 99 

Boynton,  Louis 103,  [73 

Bragdon,  Claude 211 

Busselle,  Alfred 71,  183 

Cope  &  Stewardson 115,127,  163,  165 

Davis  &   McGrath 229 

Davis,  McGrath  &  Shepard 65 

Dow,  Joy  Wheeler 39,  121,  145 

Elzner  ex  Anderson 69 

Embury  II,  Aymar 81,  83,  85,  87,  S9,  1:9 

Ewing  &  Chappell 35 

Eyre,  Wilson         79,  [59,  W>_ 

Ford,  Lyman  A 101 

262 


LIST  OF  ARCHITECTS 


PAGE 


Gildersleeve,  Raleigh  C g7 

Greene  &  Greene      ....  .  r,,-,    OTri    „,T 

Griffin,  Percy ,, 

Grey,  Elmer .119 

Hale  &  Rogers ?] 

Hering,  O.  C 31,181 

Hunt,  Myron,  &  Elmer  Grey 77,  109,  223,  22c,  2T7 

Jackson,  Allen  W j -,q 

Jones,  Sullivan  W llT 

Keen,  Charles  Barton -„    gj    _-    IT_ 

Keen  &  Mead .  2i 

Kilham  &  Hopkins .  11  ic 

Kirby,  Petit  &  Green ,n 

Lewis,  William  Whitney ...  \c-> 

Little,  J.  Lovell Tn~ 

Lord  &  Hewlett ,„ 

MacKenzie,  G.  C , q- 

Maher,  George  W 
May  beck,  Bernard 


Maher,  George  W 2o$,  20y}  2oq 


McGonigle,  A.  Van  Buren iqQj  2oi 

Mead,  Frank  B „, 

Metcalfe,  Louis      ......  ,„ 

Moses,  Lionel ,- 

Nichols,  George    ..................  n, 

^3 


LIST  OF  ARCHITECTS 

Parker  cv'    Thomas 179 

Piatt,  Charles  A 29,43,45,63,  151,243,245 

Pope,  John  Russell 135 

Purdon,  James 2_,  23 

Rantoul,  William  G 161 

Shaw,  Howard 1  89,  19  1 ,   1  93,  i  95,  241 

Slee  &  Bryson 187,  239 

Smedley,  Walter 113 

Sneden,  A.  Durant 185 

Spencer  &  Powers 157,  169 

Stratton  &  Baldwin 133,  235 

Taylor  &  Levi 105,  141 

Tietig  &  Lee 213 

Wilder  cc  White 171 

Winslow  &  Bigelow 155,  175,  177 

Wyatt  &  Nolting 73 


264 


ADDENDUM 

The  author  desires  to  acknowledge  the  courtesy  ot 
"American  Homes  and  Gardens"  in  permitting  the 
use  of  the  illustrations  on  pages  19,  27,  55,  67,  11 1, 
127,  14.J,  165,  and  167. 


